Kraken, whose founder donated $1 million in crypto to Donald Trump, intends to launch a blockchain network next year.

Kraken’s upcoming launch, dubbed Ink, has a blockchain design similar to Coinbase’s Ethereum (ETH) layer-2 network, Base. California-based Kraken plans to become the second U.S. crypto exchange to launch its own decentralized chain with smart contract support by early 2025.

Remarks from the developers behind Ink disclosed that the chain will be another Ethereum scaling solution, commonly called L2s. Ink founder Andrew Koller mentioned that Kraken’s blockchain will enable retail and institutional market players to engage in trustless financial activities on-chain.

Features of Ink

Like Base on Ethereum, Koller and his team designed Ink to host decentralized applications such as DeFi lender Aave or Aerodrome, the largest DEX on Coinbase’s L2. Ink taps into Optimism’s developer stack, the same toolkit powering Base.

Success of Layer-2 Networks

Coinbase’s Base has become DeFi’s fifth-largest chain, accumulating the most user deposits, or total value locked (TVL) of any Ethereum layer-2 network. According to DeFiLlama, users have invested over $2.4 billion on Base since its launch in August 2023. Only Ethereum, Tron, Solana, and Binance Smart Chain held larger TVLs.

The success achieved by Base and Binance Smart Chain may offer a glimpse of how high a crypto exchange-backed blockchain could ascend in a short time. Kraken, alongside Binance and Coinbase, is one of the largest digital asset trading platforms.

Kraken’s Strategic Move

Ink’s reveal could also represent Kraken’s optimistic outlook on the U.S. crypto landscape post-elections. In June, Kraken founder Jesse Powell donated $1 million, mostly in ETH, to Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump.

For too long, the crypto industry has been under attack by Elizabeth Warren, Gary Gensler, and others. Despite overwhelming bipartisan Congressional efforts to put clear rules in place, the Biden White House has…

In related news, Powell’s crypto exchange was involved in litigation over allegations levied by the Securities and Exchange Commission. A judge ruled to advance the SEC’s lawsuit, while the company denied operating as an unregistered securities exchange and requested a jury trial.

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