Image Credit: Shutterstock
Key Takeaways
- Aave Labs’ UK subsidiaries received FCA registration as crypto asset exchange providers and e-money issuers, enabling regulated stablecoin on- and off-ramping in the UK.
- Kulechov described the approval as enabling a “vertically integrated zero-fee on-ramp” for fiat-to-Aave flows, tied to a broader European strategy via a MiCA license through the Central Bank of Ireland.
- OpenZeppelin co-founder Manuel Aráoz warned he no longer considers Aave safe due to AI-powered attack tools, as Aave DAO deployed ~$58M to cover KelpDAO exploit losses.
Aave Labs announced on May 28 that its two UK subsidiaries, Push Labs Ltd. and Push Virtual Assets Ltd., have been granted registration by the Financial Conduct Authority to operate as crypto asset exchange providers in the United Kingdom. The approval also authorizes the firms to issue electronic money under the UK’s Electronic Money Regulations 2011.
Push Labs and Push Virtual Assets Assigned FCA Firm Reference Numbers
The two companies were assigned firm reference numbers 1031720 and 1031721 respectively, while Push’s electronic money authorization carries reference number 900984. In a post on X, Aave said the approvals would allow “regulated cryptoasset activities and payments infrastructure” in the UK, including stablecoin on- and off-ramping services.
Aave founder Stani Kulechov described the setup as enabling users to move fiat currency directly into the Aave ecosystem through what he called a “vertically integrated zero-fee on-ramp.”
Kulechov also linked the FCA registration to Aave’s broader regulatory plans in Europe, referencing the company’s MiCA license through the Central Bank of Ireland for operations across the European Economic Area.
Aave Published Avalanche V4 Governance Proposal in the Same Week
The FCA announcement arrived during a busy period for the protocol. Earlier in the week, Aave published a governance Temp Check proposal to deploy Aave V4 on Avalanche, including a dedicated liquidity hub for tokenized real-world assets.
Luigi D’Onorio DeMeo, a former COO at Ava Labs, wrote on X that Avalanche had a “huge opportunity” to build on-chain capital markets around the new version of the protocol, stating:
“I think the biggest takeaway from the low yields is the lack of borrowing demand being facilitated by DeFi, and it’s a huge opportunity.”
OpenZeppelin Co-Founder Says He No Longer Considers Aave Safe
OpenZeppelin co-founder Manuel Aráoz warned users on X that he now considers “all DeFi unsafe,” arguing that AI-powered coding tools have tilted the balance too heavily in favor of attackers and naming Aave as one of the platforms he no longer considers safe.
Aave was affected by an exploit in April on KelpDAO in which the attacker deposited 89,567 rsETH on Aave as collateral and borrowed roughly 82,650 WETH (~$190 million). This created a deficit of more than 100,000 ETH across connected protocols, according to a report by Aave Labs and LlamaRisk.
Aave DAO Uses $58 Million in Treasury Funds to Cover KelpDAO Losses
Jose Fabrega, an analyst writing on X, praised Aave DAO for using roughly $58 million from its treasury to help cover losses tied to rsETH depositors after the incident. According to a report published April 25, Kulechov personally pledged 5,000 ETH toward the “DeFi United” initiative formed to stabilize markets in the aftermath.
Aave had more than $13.6 billion in total value locked at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko data. The AAVE token dipped approximately 5% in 24 hours to trade at around $81, and recorded a nearly 10% decline over the prior seven days and a 17% fall over the past month, according to CoinGecko data.
