Rumors about a massive AAVE discount have been refuted: the project's founder clarified the situation and announced an automatic buyback.
Stani Kulechov, founder of the Aave protocol, has categorically denied information about a possible sale of AAVE tokens at a 70% discount. This news, which sparked a strong reaction in the crypto community, turned out to be nothing more than a rumor based on inaccurate data.
At the center of attention were negotiations between Aave Labs and the Kraken exchange regarding a potential acquisition of a stake in the project. Leaked materials mentioned a figure of 15% of the company at a valuation of $385 million. However, as it turned out, neither party confirmed these terms. Kulechov called the presentation of the information incorrect but confirmed the fact of negotiations for the buyback of some tokens owned by Aave Labs.
Why the rumors caused negativity and what the real background is
A hypothetical agreement with Kraken would be seen as a logical continuation of existing cooperation. Recall that in 2025, the Aave DAO community overwhelmingly approved (99.8%) the transfer of a license to Kraken for the Ink blockchain network. Today, this network is developing its own lending platform based on Aave's code and shares a portion of its operational income with the protocol. Negotiations resumed amid recovery from a serious incident with KelpDAO in April, when hackers took out large loans backed by unbacked coins, creating problematic debt of up to $230 million. Although Aave's smart contracts held up, the outflow of client funds was significant: the volume of deposits decreased by more than a third, but even today, about $12 billion is placed in the protocol.
Kulechov reminded of revenues and plans for AAVE buybacks
The project's founder was extremely clear in his statement: "We will never sell AAVE at a 70% discount." He emphasized that Aave Labs acts solely as a service provider for the DAO and does not receive a share of the protocol's revenues. All proceeds, according to the Aave Will Win concept, are distributed among AAVE token holders. "All revenue from the Aave protocol and GHO goes to the $AAVE token," Kulechov noted.
Moreover, he announced Aavenomics 3.0 — a new version of the economic model that will make the buyback of AAVE tokens fully automatic. Currently, there is a program in place that allows for the discretionary buyback of up to $50 million worth of AAVE tokens per year. Following this news, the market reacted positively: the daily AAVE rate rose by almost 7% and settled around $87.
What's next for Aave and Kraken
Buying a stake in the project fits well into Kraken's strategy, which is actively acquiring assets ahead of its expected exchange listing. This year, the exchange has already agreed to acquire the derivatives platform Bitnomial for up to $550 million. Despite the April downturn, analysts see significant growth potential in AAVE. In the coming weeks, Aave will hold a quarterly call with the community, where the fate of the negotiations with Kraken will likely become clearer, and it will be understood how the automation of buybacks will change the token's development trajectory.
Cryptalist expert opinion: Kulechov's denial is not just a market reassurance but a clear signal about the team's long-term strategy. The automation of buybacks under Aavenomics 3.0 could become a powerful driver for AAVE's price, especially in combination with growing institutional interest from giants like Kraken. The market is clearly underestimating this factor.