Despite the cooling of London’s luxury market, crypto leader Stani Kulechov snaps up a £22 million mansion.
Stani Kulechov, the founder of the decentralized finance protocol Aave, bought a five-story Victorian mansion in London for an estimated £22 million (worth about $30 million).
This is one of the city’s most expensive residential deals of the past year, according to Bloomberg.
Kulechov’s London Buy
The property is located in Notting Hill, which was acquired in November for around £2 million below its original asking price, just before the UK’s autumn budget. The transaction came against a subdued luxury housing market, which has been weighed down by higher stamp duties and policy changes introduced under the Labor government, including the return of tax breaks for wealthy foreign nationals.
Data from property research firm LonRes has revealed that sales of homes priced over £5 million fell sharply towards the end of last year. It is not known if any digital assets were used in the purchase.
Kulechov founded Aave in 2017 under its original name, ETHLend, which was later renamed Aave. In 2023, Aave’s successor company briefly adopted the Avara umbrella brand to handle many Web3 applications. Aave has grown into one of the largest DeFi lending platforms. Outside of lending, Kulechov is involved in several crypto projects, including the GHO stablecoin and consumer-facing blockchain products. He has also publicly voiced support for the UK as a potential hub for crypto innovation.
Product overhaul
The purchase comes as Aave Labs narrows its focus on its core lending business. Earlier this month, the company said it would close the Avara umbrella brand, which included several Web3 projects, including the Family crypto wallet and the Lens decentralized public platform.
Under this change, all products will operate under the Aave Labs name only, including the Aave mobile app, Aave Pro, and Aave Kit. The company said the main purpose of this move is to simplify its brand and focus resources on growing the Aave protocol and expanding its users.
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The decision also follows ongoing questions about regulation within the DeFi ecosystem. Aave DAO, governed by AAVE token holders, manages the protocol’s smart contracts and on-chain revenue, while Aave Labs manages the official website, branding, and other off-chain assets.
The chaos arose last year after the company made changes to the official system that redirected some funds away from the DAO’s treasury. A public bid to control Aave Labs’ intellectual property later fell through, although discussions about profit sharing and branding are still ongoing.
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