Key takeaways
- Kraken’s Ink blockchain aims to simplify DeFi with a user-friendly interface.
- Kraken’s Ink will not issue its own token, instead focusing on expanding the service.
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Kraken announced today that it will launch its own blockchain for DeFi trading and lending in early 2025. Dubbed “Ink,” the chain will adopt technology similar to that of Coinbase, with the aim of making DeFi more user-friendly and accessible via the Kraken Wallet app.
Presentation of ink.
A unique and integrated DeFi ecosystem here for easy on-chain.
Join us: pic.twitter.com/tH4nqENKZ7
– ink (@inkonchain) October 24, 2024
“It’s a very easy-to-use, Apple-like experience,” Ink founder Andrew Koller told Bloomberg. “Over time, our users will play these two centralized and decentralized ecosystems with each other. We want you to feel like you’re doing something familiar.
The team plans to launch a developer testnet later this year, which will allow builders to experiment with creating dApps on Ink. Koller expects its mainnet to be available to retail and institutional users in early 2025.
Even though DeFi has been around for several years, it can be complex for newcomers. Kraken wants to solve this problem with Ink. At launch, the platform is expected to offer more than a dozen applications, including decentralized exchanges and aggregators, with plans to expand into real-world assets and advanced lending applications.
Kraken has no plans to issue its own token, unlike other crypto exchanges that have seen remarkable growth through such strategies. The company will initially manage the sequencing of transactions on the network, a role which will then be decentralized.
Kraken’s arrival in the blockchain space aligns with the growing trend among crypto exchanges to launch their own blockchains. Coinbase, the world’s leading crypto exchange, launched its Layer 2 Base network last year, designed to improve the functionality of dApps on Ethereum, enabling faster and cheaper transactions.
The latest development comes after Kraken announced the launch of kBTC, a Bitcoin product wrapped on Ethereum and OP Mainnet, backed by Bitcoin from Kraken Financial. The company is also exploring a possible IPO and expanding into new markets.
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