Aave Founder Drops £22M on London Mansion as UK Luxury Market Cools

Despite London’s cooling luxury market, crypto leader Stani Kulechov snaps up a £22 million mansion.

Stani Kulechov, founder of decentralized finance protocol Aave, has purchased a five-story Victorian mansion in London for around £22 million (worth approximately $30 million).

This is one of the city’s priciest residential deals over the past year, according to Bloomberg.

Kulechov’s London Buy

The property is located in the upscale Notting Hill area, which was acquired in November at roughly £2 million below its initial asking price, shortly before the UK’s autumn budget. The transaction stood out against a cooling luxury housing market, which has been weighed down by higher stamp duties and policy changes introduced under the Labour government, including the rollback of tax advantages for wealthy foreign residents.

Data from property research firm LonRes revealed that sales of homes priced above £5 million slowed significantly toward the end of last year. It remains unclear whether any digital assets were used in the purchase.

Kulechov founded Aave in 2017 under its original name, ETHLend, which was later rebranded as Aave. In 2023, the company behind Aave briefly adopted the Avara umbrella brand to manage multiple Web3 initiatives. Aave has grown into one of the largest DeFi lending platforms. Beyond lending, Kulechov has been involved in several crypto initiatives, including the GHO stablecoin and consumer-facing blockchain products. He had also publicly expressed support for the UK as a potential hub for crypto innovation.

Brand Overhaul

The purchase comes as Aave Labs is narrowing its focus to its core lending business. Earlier this month, the company said it would shut down the Avara umbrella brand, which previously grouped several Web3 projects, including the Family crypto wallet and the Lens decentralized social platform.

Under the change, all products will operate solely under the Aave Labs name, including the Aave mobile app, Aave Pro, and Aave Kit. The company said that the main objective behind the move is to simplify its brand and concentrate resources on growing the Aave protocol and expanding its user base.

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The decision also follows ongoing questions around control within the DeFi ecosystem. The Aave DAO, governed by AAVE token holders, manages the protocol’s smart contracts and on-chain revenue, while Aave Labs controls the official website, branding, and other off-chain assets.

Tensions emerged last year after the company made changes to the official interface that redirected certain fees away from the DAO treasury. A community proposal to take control of Aave Labs’ intellectual property later failed, though discussions around revenue sharing and branding continue.