Kraken is in talks to buy a 15% stake in Aave at a $385 million valuation, investing 35,000 ETH (~$55M) for 250,000 AAVE tokens and 15% common equity in Aave Group. The deal highlights the valuation gap between AAVE token ($1.24B market cap) and the company ($385M equity valuation). This follows Aave's recovery from the KelpDAO exploit and Kraken parent Payward's diversification ahead of a potential IPO. Standard Chartered also turned bullish on AAVE with a $4,000 price target by 2029. Separately, BlackBerry shares surged nearly 20% after an earnings beat and raised guidance. Q1 revenue hit $152.9M, up 26% YoY, driven by its QNX operating system used in 275M+ vehicles. BlackBerry is repositioning as a physical-AI software play, with QNX becoming critical for robotics and autonomous systems. The company posted its first positive Q1 cash flow in nine years, with adjusted EBITDA up 144%.

Key facts

• Kraken to invest ~$55M in ETH for 250K AAVE tokens and 15% equity in Aave Group.
• AAVE token market cap ($1.24B) is over 3x Aave's equity valuation ($385M).
• Standard Chartered initiates AAVE coverage with $4,000 price target by 2029.
• BlackBerry Q1 revenue $152.9M (beat estimates), QNX revenue up 26% to $72.3M.
• BlackBerry posts first positive Q1 cash flow in nine years; shares jump 20%.

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