The American cryptocurrency exchange has introduced a blockchain project called Ink. The network is designed for trading, lending, and other operations in the DeFi segment. Ink will utilize technology similar to Coinbase’s Base blockchain.
The team at cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has announced the launch of its own blockchain called Ink. The network is aimed at the DeFi segment and enables trading, lending, and borrowing of assets.
According to available information, the testnet for the Layer 2 solution Ink will be launched by the end of 2024, with a full product release expected in the first quarter of the following year. Ink’s project founder, Andrew Koller, noted that Kraken currently intends to limit itself to the launch of the network and has no plans to issue a token.
The blockchain is built on Optimism technology, which is also used by the Base network owned by Coinbase Global Inc. The developers have stated that Ink applications will be accessible to users through the Kraken Wallet cryptocurrency wallet.
“This is a very user-friendly app in the style of Apple. Over time, our users will have two ecosystems—a centralized and a decentralized one—that will interact with each other. We want you to feel like you’re dealing with something familiar,” Koller said.
Ink expects that by the time the network fully launches, the project will be able to offer users more than a dozen different applications. The first dApp providers will be decentralized exchanges and aggregators. Later, the project plans to attract lending applications and token developers.
Currently, around 40 specialists are working on the Ink blockchain. The project team has already planned several events, including a DevCon for developers, which is likely to take place in November 2024 in Thailand.
The first rumors about Kraken’s interest in developing its own blockchain surfaced online in mid-2023. At that time, some media outlets reported on the possibility of the exchange launching an L2 solution similar to Base. However, the company did not comment on these reports for a long time.
As a reminder, we reported that the Kraken exchange announced its intention to release wrapped Bitcoin, kBTC.