Kraken plans to launch its own blockchain this year, according to a post on the cryptocurrency exchange’s blog.
Dubbed Ink, the blockchain will be built on Optimism’s Superchain, a unified web of blockchains built upon the Ethereum network, which shares security and governance and uses a common standard codebase.
Ink is “designed to offer secure and seamless access to [decentralized finance] for a wider audience,” CEO David Ripley wrote on X, reflecting the blog post that called it “a seamless bridge to DeFi, empowering users to move onchain with confidence and ease.”
“Being onchain can feel complex and daunting. As a single, integrated ecosystem, Ink simplifies user engagement with top-tier DeFi applications, protocols and communities. All with one goal in mind: Making it easier for people to access exciting new opportunities onchain,” the firm said last week.
What’s rolling out later this year is a testnet, where developers can try building apps for Ink, the blockchain’s founder, Andrew Koller, told Bloomberg. The chain will open to retail and institutional users early next year, he said.
Though DeFi has long been seen as complex for the average user, and most crypto users have opted to engage with crypto through centralized exchanges like Kraken and its competitors, Koller told Bloomberg that Ink is “a very easy-to-use, Apple-esque experience.”
“Over time, our users will have these two centralized and decentralized ecosystems playing with each other. We want you to feel that you are doing something familiar,” he said.
With the development of Ink, Kraken follows competitors such as Binance, which launched its own blockchain, BNB Chain, in 2019; and Coinbase, which rolled out Base last year, also using code from Optimism.
Launching a blockchain has allowed these exchange to drive numbers in both users and revenue. Coinbase made $53 million in revenue from Base users in this year’s second quarter, according to its shareholder letter.
“While Kraken has already helped millions of people discover and participate in crypto, many of crypto’s most exciting opportunities exist onchain, in the world of DeFi,” Kraken wrote on its blog. “Ink seeks to introduce DeFi to users in a way that improves the experience for everyone.
