Aave Labs CEO Stani Kulechov has dismissed recent talks about acquiring Kraken. According to reports, crypto exchange Kraken plans to acquire a 15% stake in Aave Group, the entity behind DeFi lending protocol Aave.
In return, the exchange will reportedly invest $71 million, including an investment of 35,000 ETH as part of the deal.
While Kulechov did not deny the conversations, he corrected some details that were made public, noting that:
First of all, there’s no way we can sell AAVE at a 70% discount lol…Aave currently generates $134 million in annualized revenue, which goes into the Aave DAO.
He added that Aave is building for the entire financial market (TAM), including tokenization, and not just crypto. And the revenue goes to Aave DAO, not Aave Labs.
Additionally, Kulechov said there are plans for Aavenomis 3.0, including a “new automated and non-discretionary buyback mechanism.”
While it’s unclear whether the reported deal will close or not, the update has given it a boost AAVEs value in the graphs.
AAVE extends price rally
The altcoin rose 12% after Kulechov clarified the buyout talks. The upcoming tokenomics and buyback plan likely could have been a catalyst.
AAVE’s bounce reached $88, marking an increase of more than 50% recovery rally in June. This is despite the token still being around 77% lower than its 2025 all-time high of $386 at the time of writing.
Still, the recent impressive recovery was not surprising.
Most altcoins had hit yearly lows and seller exhaustion was creeping in. In fact, Santiment data showed that AAVE’s overall selling pressure, as tracked by supply on the exchanges, began to decline sharply in late May.
This coincided with AAVE’s local price bottom around $50. As selling pressure has subsided, every little catalyst has allowed select altcoins including AAVE to make strong rebounds.
For AAVE, however, the decline in 2026 was caused by governance conflicts and macro pressures. As several builders left the ecosystem, citing excessive control by Kulechov-led Aave Labs, the price of AAVE fell.
It remains to be seen how the market will react to Kulechov’s Aavenomics 3.0 and whether this will drive AAVE’s recovery.
Final summary
- Aave Labs CEO dismisses Kraken buyout reports, saying they will never sell at a discount.
- AAVE extended its recovery rally to +50% in June under the Aavenomics 3.0 plan.