After more than a decade in business, US crypto exchange Kraken has decided to launch its own blockchain. A Bloomberg report says that the Kraken network will likely launch in early 2025.

The new blockchain, called Ink, will be designed primarily for decentralized applications, allowing users to trade, lend, and borrow cryptocurrencies without intermediaries.

Kraken to Launch L2 Blockchain

Ink will be a Layer 2 (L2) network built on the Optimism Superchain, which powers an ecosystem of blockchains built on a common standard code base that shares Ethereum’s security, governance, and values. Kraken said the L2 chain will remove friction between the centralized and decentralized worlds in the crypto ecosystem, allowing users to easily interact with decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Ink founder Andrew Koller said that a testnet for the network will launch later this year, allowing developers to try out blockchain applications. Kraken and the Ink team aim to open the network to retail and institutional users in the first quarter of 2025. There are already plans for developer events aimed at developing the network for the rest of the year.

Notably, Kraken will not issue its own token along with the new blockchain.

Kraken joins Binance and Coinbase

Following Ink’s debut, several decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and aggregators will appear on the network in the coming months. Kraken believes that real assets and advanced lending applications will eventually launch on Ink. The cryptocurrency exchange aims to simplify the DeFi experience for users by making it more cost-effective and intuitive.

It is worth noting that Kraken plans to become Ink’s early-stage on-chain sequencer, orchestrating and managing transactions on the network. This feature will gradually become decentralized and shared among multiple network participants.

The latest development adds Kraken to a growing list of crypto exchanges launching their own blockchains to increase revenue and user engagement. Coinbase launched Base in August 2023, and it has performed well since its launch. Binance's BNB Chain has been around for a long time and remains one of the leading networks.

In the meantime, Kraken is expanding into other sectors of the crypto industry. The exchange recently unveiled its Wrapped Bitcoin, kBTC, which will be launched on the Ethereum and OP Mainnet chains.

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