Aave founder Stani Kulechov on X Thursday previewed Aavenomics 3.0, a tokenomics overhaul that would replace the protocol’s existing discretionary buyback program with an automated, non-discretionary on-chain mechanism funded by all protocols and $GHO gain.
The announcement came as Kulechov responded to a CoinDesk report that Kraken parent company Payward was in talks to acquire a 15% equity stake in Aave Group at a valuation of $385 million. Kulechov disputed the wording of “70% discount” in the report, while using the moment to lay out Aave’s existing and planned revenue structure for token holders. Aavenomics 3.0 is the resulting component: an automated buyback system that runs at the protocol level and runs continuously unless the board decides to stop it.
Current buyback program
Aave’s board approved the Aavenomics Part One ARFC in early 2025, giving the Aave Finance Committee a mandate to implement $AAVE buybacks on secondary markets at $1 million per week for the initial six-month period. That amounts to roughly $50 million per year in discretionary buybacks, coordinated by the Aave Finance Committee and financed from excess revenue from the protocol.
The mechanism is governed by a committee: the board can redirect, pause or resize the program without any change at the protocol level. Aavenomics 3.0, as described by Kulechov, would harden buybacks into the protocol’s economic architecture. Details on the implementation mechanisms and governance timeline are expected on Aave’s next quarterly call, according to Kulechov’s post.
Revenue flowing into the token
The broader context for the buyback upgrade is the Aave Will Win (AWW) framework, which was adopted by the board in April 2026. Under AWW, 100% of the turnover is generated from the Aave Protocol $GHOand Aave-branded products, including Aave App, Aave Pro and Swaps, flow entirely into the Aave DAO coffers. Aave Labs operates solely as a DAO service provider and retains no product revenue.
$GHOAave’s native stablecoin, according to DefiLlama, has grown to approximately $599 million in circulating supply, generating additional revenue from protocol fees in addition to lending revenue. Aave’s all-time protocol costs exceed $2.2 billion, with annual costs approximately $400 million based on the subsequent seven-day period.
Aavenomics 3.0 would route that revenue stream through an automated mechanism. Under the design Kulechov described, buybacks would be conducted without committee approval for each cycle, making buybacks a regular part of how the protocol distributes economic output among token holders.
The Kraken Equity Context
The CoinDesk report described a deal where Payward would receive 250,000 $AAVE tokens and a 15% common equity stake in Aave Group, with Payward also seeking to syndicate the deal. The $385 million valuation is below $AAVE‘s fully diluted token valuation of approximately $1.52 billion at current prices.
Kulechov’s counter-reaction, reported by Unchained, created a structural distinction between Aave Group as a business entity and the $AAVE token as an economic vehicle. The equity in Aave Group represents a claim on the business services provider, which receives a DAO-funded development budget under AWW, but does not retain any protocol or product revenue. The $AAVE token captures all that economic output. Aave Labs holds its own $AAVE token allocation, and Kulechov said multiple market participants have discussed purchasing it through long-term partnerships.
Payward’s interest follows the integration of Aave technology via Kraken’s Layer 2 network Tydro. The Defiant reported on Thursday about Kulechov’s initial dispute over closing the deal. Kraken has not made any public statement on the status of the talks.
$AAVE Price
$AAVE was trading around $95 on Friday morning, up about 13.5% in the past 24 hours and up about 27% on the week, according to CoinGecko. The token’s market cap was approximately $1.44 billion, while its total value on Aave was $12.46 billion, per DefiLlama.
The governance details of Aavenomics 3.0 have not yet been published on the forum; During the quarterly call, Kulechov indicated that the full specification would be released.