- Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, and its clients have purchased AAVE tokens through secondary-market transactions.
- The investment was made through a Payward-affiliated fund, although the number of tokens and the purchase value were not disclosed.
- The move reflects growing institutional interest in Aave and the decentralized finance lending market.
Payward Makes Investment In AAVE
Payward and its clients have invested in AAVE tokens after news broke on the 5th of November that they have bought AAVE, the native cryptocurrency of the Aave lending protocol.
The future of finance is taking shape, and we’re excited to be part of it.
An investment fund affiliated with Payward and its clients has purchased AAVE tokens, the native token of the Aave network.
We’re also exploring opportunities to work with @Aave on future initiatives.
Learn more 👇
https://t.co/c1STTiELMz
— Payward (@Payward) November 5, 2026
The acquisition was completed through Payward’s Digital Asset Special Investments I, LP and its clients. However, how much tokens were bought is being kept secret.
Payward has stated that they may continue to buy more tokens. The AAVE token serves as a governance token for the Aave network allowing investors to vote on significant decisions impacting the platform, such as rule changes.
This investment means Payward and its clients have exposure to one of the biggest projects within the decentralized finance (DeFi) space.
Aave Partnership Supports The Investment
Aave Founder Stani Kulechov confirmed that the investment had been made in a post on the 5th of November on X. He said it was a big step towards opening up onchain lending to more investors.
Today @Payward, the unified financial infrastructure platform that powers @krakenfx, announced that Digital Asset Special Investments I, LP, a Payward-affiliated investment fund, and its clients acquired AAVE tokens.
The AAVE tokens were acquired through secondary market purchases, and Payward may make additional acquisitions in the future. Payward and Aave are also exploring opportunities to collaborate on future initiatives.
As traditional and onchain markets converge, Payward believes DeFi is an integral part of the global financial system, with Aave playing a leading role in this evolution.
— Aave (@aave) November 5, 2026
The investment was made through Payward’s asset management arm, which helps connect clients to opportunities in digital assets, structured yield products and tokenized financial products.
“This investment demonstrates our strategic interest in the onchain lending and credit markets,” said Gurpreet Oberoi, Vice President of Payward Asset Management and Institutional.
“Aave has become one of the key platforms driving growth in decentralized lending.”
It has not yet been revealed whether the newly bought AAVE tokens will see Payward voting in governance. Token holders have the right to vote on significant decisions.
The news follows previous reports that Payward had been in investment talks with Aave. In June, Kulechov had denied reports that they were going to sell tokens at a 70% discount. He went onto clarify that the talks were around certain allocations of tokens held by Aave Labs and not the decentralized protocol.
Aave Strengthens Its Position In Defi
Aave is an onchain borrowing and lending platform which allows users to deposit digital assets and borrow against them through smart contracts on the blockchain.
The network has around $33 billion of net deposits and $12 billion in active loans, according to the announcement on the 5th of November.
Another key development for Aave is its Aave Will Win Framework, approved in April 2026. This means that Aave Labs will commit to putting revenue earned from its Aave branded products into the Aave DAO treasury. The framework also includes funding for ongoing product development.
Payward has been increasing its exposure to digital assets beyond just crypto exchanges. In October, it announced that it would be creating regulated perpetual futures markets on Hyperliquid using its HIP-3 framework. In April, Payward agreed to acquire Bitnomial.
This latest acquisition of AAVE shows how Payward is becoming increasingly interested in decentralized finance and how well established crypto firms want to invest in blockchain based lending and financial services.
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