Kraken, the crypto exchange owned by Payward, is reportedly in talks to buy a 15% stake in Aave Group at a $385 million valuation, CoinDesk has learned, citing a document it reviewed.
- The potential deal would see Kraken invest 35,000 ETH in exchange for 250,000 AAVE tokens and a 15% common equity stake in Aave Group, per the report.
- People familiar with the deal added Kraken is also looking to syndicate the roughly $71 million deal.
- Amid the news, AAVE price jumped 6.7% to $79.2, according to CoinGecko data.
The reported deal would give Payward a corporate equity stake in Aave Group, the company tied to one of DeFi's biggest lending protocols.
IPO prep meets DeFi risk
The talks fit Payward's broader push beyond spot crypto trading before a possible public listing.
In April, Payward agreed to acquire Bitnomial, a U.S. crypto derivatives exchange, for up to $550 million in cash and stock.
Aave, meanwhile, is still rebuilding after April's KelpDAO exploit.
- Aave's own smart contracts weren't hacked, but attackers used unbacked rsETH tied to KelpDAO as collateral on Aave and borrowed real assets against it.
- That left Aave with an estimated $190 million to $230 million in bad debt and triggered more than $8 billion in withdrawals.