Stan Kulechov denied rumors about selling AAVE at a 70% discount: what is really happening
Aave founder Stani Kulechov has firmly denied rumors circulating in the crypto community that the protocol was allegedly negotiating with the exchange Kraken to sell AAVE tokens at a 70% discount. This information, which emerged in leaked materials, sparked a strong reaction in the market: within 24 hours, the AAVE price surged nearly 7%, settling around $87. However, as it turns out, the reality was far less dramatic.
The leaked documents mentioned the sale of approximately 15% of the company at a total valuation of $385 million. However, neither party to the potential deal confirmed these terms. Kulechov called the presentation of this information incorrect, acknowledging only that negotiations had taken place between the entities regarding the buyback of some tokens owned by the Aave Labs division. This is not about a massive sell-off, but rather a possible continuation of a collaboration that is already bearing fruit.
Partnership with Kraken: From License to Lending Platform
As a reminder, in 2025, the Aave DAO community almost unanimously (99.8% of votes) approved the transfer of a license to Kraken for the Ink blockchain network. This network is now actively developing its own lending platform based on Aave's technology code and shares a portion of its operational revenue with the protocol. Thus, the rumors of a "sell-off" are most likely a distorted interpretation of plans to deepen integration.
The dialogue between Kraken and Aave resumed after a serious incident with KelpDAO in April, when hackers took out large loans using unbacked coins as collateral, creating problematic debt of up to $230 million. Although Aave's protective smart contracts withstood the pressure, the liquidation of the consequences led to an outflow of client funds: the total volume of deposits decreased by more than a third, though approximately $12 billion remains placed in the protocol.
Aavenomics 3.0: Automatic Buyback and No Discounts
Kulechov made it clear: "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 income from Aave and the GHO stablecoin is directed to AAVE token holders. Moreover, Aavenomics 3.0 has been announced — a new version of the economic model that will make token buybacks fully automatic. The current program allows for up to $50 million in buybacks per year at its discretion, but the new version promises a systematic approach.
My expert opinion: The market, as always, overhyped the rumors without understanding the details. In reality, we are not witnessing a weakening of Aave's position, but rather a strengthening of its role as a key technology partner for major players. The automation of buybacks under Aavenomics 3.0 could become a powerful long-term driver for the token, especially against the backdrop of restoring trust after the April incident. The upcoming quarterly community call will shed light on exactly what this partnership will look like in the future.