Stani Kulechov, the founder of Aave, publicly rejected a reported acquisition approach by Payward, stating that the AAVE token is not for sale "at a 70% discount." The pushback comes after Aave's decentralized autonomous organization passed the "Aave Will Win" proposal, which redirects 100% of protocol revenue and revenue from Aave-branded products to the DAO and AAVE token holders — a structural change that makes the token more valuable to hold and, by extension, harder to acquire cheaply.
What the Reported Payward Approach Said
The "70% discount" framing belongs to Kulechov, not to a confirmed bid price. What it signals is that Aave's leadership considers the AAVE token deeply undervalued at whatever level Payward is said to have proposed. The source identifies Payward as the entity behind the reported approach but does not confirm the specific terms of any offer or include a public statement from Payward itself. That gap matters: a news report of a bid and a confirmed, formal offer are different things, and the on-chain record does not yet reflect one.
The Revenue Shift That Changes the Math
To understand why Kulechov's rejection carries force, start with the Aave Will Win proposal. A DAO — a decentralized autonomous organization — is a governance structure where token holders vote on protocol decisions rather than a traditional board of directors. The Aave Will Win proposal redirected all revenue generated by the Aave protocol and by Aave-branded products to that DAO and to AAVE token holders. Before that change, governance token holders primarily held voting rights; after it, they hold a direct claim on cash flows the protocol generates. A token with a revenue entitlement commands a higher price floor than a pure governance token, which is precisely the argument Kulechov's rejection implies.
Why the Price Objection Is the Signal Worth Watching
Founders who reject bids on strategic grounds typically say so — they cite mission, culture, or long-term independence. Kulechov's stated objection is narrower: the price is wrong. Calling the reported offer a 70% discount is a message aimed at AAVE holders not to be tempted by low-priced approaches, and an implicit case that the Aave Will Win revenue structure justifies a materially higher valuation. Whether Payward's reported interest was a formal proposal or an exploratory conversation, the source does not confirm — but Kulechov's answer, at least on current terms, is unambiguous.