Aave DAO is currently voting on a proposal to launch a white-label version of its lending protocol on Kraken’s Ink blockchain—a move that signals a significant step toward bridging decentralized finance (DeFi) with centralized platforms.
Introduced via Snapshot on July 17, the proposal outlines a plan to deploy Aave’s smart contract infrastructure under a new brand managed by the Ink Foundation. The initiative has garnered strong support from the Aave community, with over 790,000 votes cast in favor ahead of the July 21 voting deadline.
This marks Aave’s first-ever white-label deployment and reflects a strategic collaboration aimed at expanding the reach of its technology. The partnership includes a revenue-sharing model between Aave and Ink, opening up new income channels for the Aave DAO while preserving its core decentralized structure.
The white-label platform will operate on Ink, an Ethereum layer-2 network built on the Optimism Superchain. It will enable Kraken users to access onchain lending through Aave’s core protocol, though the interface and operations will be managed by the Ink Foundation. This hybrid structure merges DeFi’s architecture with centralized oversight, creating a compliance-friendly framework that could appeal to institutions and ease Kraken users into decentralized finance.
To incentivize early participation, the Ink Foundation plans to distribute 4% of its INK token supply to early adopters. Meanwhile, Aave DAO will contribute AAVE tokens and its GHO stablecoin to bootstrap liquidity on the platform.
The partners aim to attract at least $250 million in deposits—an ambitious target given Ink’s current total value locked (TVL) is under $10 million. In contrast, rival platforms like Coinbase’s Base have surpassed $3.7 billion in TVL.
If successful, the collaboration offers mutual benefits: Ink gains a flagship application to drive adoption of its layer-2 network, Kraken broadens its product offerings with a trusted DeFi backend, and Aave diversifies its revenue without altering its decentralized core.
Still, the proposal has sparked debate within the Aave community about the trade-offs between decentralization and centralized control, as the Ink Foundation will govern user-facing operations. Should the vote pass, the new platform will undergo a comprehensive audit prior to launch.
An exclusivity agreement ensures that Ink will remain Aave’s only white-label partner for at least one year following deployment.
