Rumors of a 70% discount sale of AAVE have been refuted: what lies behind the negotiations with Kraken
In recent days, the crypto community has been buzzing with rumors of a possible massive sale of AAVE tokens at a 70% discount as part of a deal with the Kraken exchange. Project founder Stani Kulechov decisively quashed these speculations, calling them an incorrect interpretation of ongoing negotiations. My expertise confirms that the market often reacts to incomplete information, and this case is a classic example of how unconfirmed data can trigger excessive volatility.
According to leaked materials, the sale of approximately 15% of the stake in Aave Labs was discussed, with the company valued at $385 million. However, neither party has officially confirmed these terms. Nevertheless, the news caused a sharp rise in the AAVE price — nearly 7% in a day, to around $87. This demonstrates how sensitive the community is to any signals of partnerships with major players like Kraken.
Negotiations with Kraken: Context and Prospects
Kulechov confirmed the fact of dialogue between the entities but emphasized that it concerns the buyback of some tokens owned by the Aave Labs division, not a discounted sale. This is a continuation of cooperation that began in 2025, when the DAO approved the transfer of a license to Kraken for the Ink blockchain network. At that time, 99.8% of participants voted in favor of the initiative. Now Ink is developing its own lending platform based on Aave's code, sharing a portion of operating income with the protocol.
The dialogue resumed after the April incident with KelpDAO, during which hackers took out large loans backed by unbacked coins, creating problematic debt of up to $230 million. Although Aave's protective smart contracts withstood the pressure, the liquidation of consequences led to an outflow of client funds — the volume of deposits decreased by more than a third. However, today the protocol still holds about $12 billion, indicating the platform's high resilience.
Aavenomics 3.0 and the Future of the Token
Kulechov also reminded that Aave Labs acts solely as a service provider for the DAO and does not receive a share of the protocol's revenue. All income from Aave and the GHO stablecoin is directed to AAVE token holders. Moreover, Aavenomics 3.0 has been announced — a new version that will make token buybacks fully automatic. The current program allows for the buyback of up to $50 million in AAVE per year at the community's discretion. This step could become a powerful catalyst for price growth.
My analysis: This situation highlights the maturity of Aave as a protocol and its ability to build strategic alliances without succumbing to panic. Automating buybacks under Aavenomics 3.0 is a smart move that could significantly reduce volatility and increase investor confidence. In the coming weeks, the quarterly community call will clarify whether the negotiations with Kraken will solidify, but it is already clear: Aave is confidently steering toward strengthening its fundamental metrics.