AERO Soars 10% as Animoca Market Buys Aerodrome’s Native Token

Animoca Brands, one of Asia’s top web3 game development and investment firms, has acquired an undisclosed amount of Base-based decentralized exchange (DEX) Aerodrome’s AERO token. The price of AERO surged over 10% on the news yesterday.

In an X thread on Oct. 28, Animoca Brands said it had bought AERO at market prices and “max-locked as veAERO,” a mechanism that allows token holders to lock their AERO for a set period in exchange for voting power and long-term staking rewards.

The firm added that the decision reflected Aerodrome’s emergence as a “key component in the engine” driving DeFi growth on Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2, Base. Aerodrome is an automated market maker (AMM) on Base, and currently holds the spot as the largest DEX on the network by trading volume, though just marginally beating Uniswap on the daily and weekly timeframes.

“With sustainable tokenomics for AERO and the team’s ability to execute, Aerodrome has proven its standing as a key player in Base infrastructure,” Animoca Brands said in the X thread.

Following the announcement, AERO surged, briefly breaking through the $1 mark, according to CoinGecko. However, the token remains 58% below its all-time high of $2.32, set in early December 2024.

Despite the price jump, the total value locked in Aerodrome has been steadily falling, from just over $1 billion in early 2025 to around $553 million at press time, marking a 45% drop, according to data from DefiLlama.

While Animoca Brands didn’t disclose the number of tokens or dollar value of the purchase, the firm’s co-founder Yat Siu noted in response yesterday that the deal made Animoca Brands “one of the largest holders of AERO.” Aerodrome also reiterated in an X post the same day that Animoca had “market acquired and max-locked a position in AERO for long-term alignment.”

Animoca did not immediately respond to The Defiant’s request for more details on the deal.