Summary
- Kraken is evaluating a deal to acquire a 15% stake in DeFi lending protocol Aave, valuing the company at $385 million, as reported by sources.
- The proposed investment comes months after Aave weathered the fallout from the KelpDAO exploit, which left the protocol with notable bad debt and triggered billions of dollars in withdrawals despite its smart contracts remaining uncompromised.
- The potential transaction reflects Kraken’s parent company Payward’s push to diversify ahead of a potential IPO.
Crypto exchange Kraken, part of Payward Inc., is in talks to acquire a 15% stake in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Aave at a $385 million valuation, as reported by three people with knowledge of the matter.
A potential deal would see Kraken investing 35,000 ether (ETH) in return for 250,000 AAVE tokens and a 15% common equity stake in Aave Group, as reported by a document seen by CoinDesk.
Two sources with knowledge of the transaction stated that Kraken is also looking to syndicate the deal which is worth around $71 million, the people stated, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter is private.
as reported by a third source familiar with the company’s plans, the investment would be the first in a series of deals aimed at building out Payward Asset Management, with the firm taking a more active role in DeFi and other investment opportunities. They have the capital to backstop it and partners around the table that want to fund these types of opportunities, the person stated.
A Kraken spokesperson declined to comment. Aave didn’t respond to a request for comment by publication time.
