Crypto change Kraken introduced the upcoming launch of Ink, an Ethereum layer 2 community based mostly on the Optimism Superchain, in a press release on October twenty fourth.
Ink goals to permit customers to commerce, borrow and lend tokens with out the necessity for intermediaries, a major shift away from Kraken's present centralized change mannequin.
Ink founder Andrew Koller stated:
“Ink will work intently with builders and the group to create a powerful ecosystem for everybody. We’re excited to speed up on-chain motion with an interoperable L2 that can make entry to DeFi much more seamless for cryptocurrency customers. The ink of the longer term.”
The community plans to launch its testnet for builders later this yr, with a full rollout for retail and institutional customers anticipated within the first quarter of 2025.
Why Optimism Superchain?
Kraken stated its selection of Optimism Superchain will permit it to learn from Ethereum's sturdy safety. This could additionally place Ink as a part of the Superchain – a unified community of blockchains that share safety, governance and worth designed to enhance Ethereum's scalability.
In the meantime, the change's resolution is in keeping with a rising pattern amongst main crypto corporations, together with Coinbase, Uniswap, and World, to make use of the know-how for his or her Layer 2 networks.
Optimism Limitless Chief Development Officer Ryan Wyatt commented:
“Optimism know-how powers the Superchain and almost 50% of all Ethereum L2 transactions. As a part of this Superchain ecosystem, Ink will contribute to Optimism Administration and ship income again to the Optimism Collective as we work collectively to develop Ethereum.
Regardless of this vital adoption of Optimism, Arbitrum stays the dominant Layer 2 community, based on DeFillama knowledge.
Kraken's increasing product portfolio
The launch of the ink enhances Kraken's increasing product vary geared toward consolidating its business place.
This month, the change launched kBTC, a brand new packaged bitcoin product designed to extend the high-end availability of cryptocurrencies in DeFi actions. The agency stated that every kBTC is securely backed 1:1 by the equal quantity of bitcoins it holds in custody.
Moreover, Kraken additionally introduced the mixing of EigenLayer in order that its customers can as soon as once more mine ETH straight from its platform.
As well as, Kraken launched a derivatives buying and selling platform in Bermuda after acquiring a Class F Digital Enterprise License from the Bermuda Financial Authority (BMA).
