The Katana Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to advancing decentralized finance (DeFi), today unveiled the private mainnet of its DeFi-centric blockchain, Katana. Designed to streamline liquidity and amplify asset productivity, Katana aims to deliver higher yields and deeper liquidity for both institutional and retail users.
Why does it matter? With institutional DeFi adoption expected to triple over the next two years, according to EY, Katana arrives as a purpose-built solution to address critical pain points in the sector: fragmented liquidity, inefficient capital deployment, and excessive value leakage.
“With Katana, we’re applying our deep markets expertise to unlock real yield and concentrated liquidity,” said Jakob Palmstierna, President, GSR, a key incubator and liquidity partner for the project.
The Katana Blueprint: An Integrated DeFi Yield Engine
Unlike traditional DeFi ecosystems that fragment user activity across disparate protocols, Katana concentrates liquidity into a streamlined suite of trusted applications. It collects yield from multiple sources and recycles fees back into the ecosystem to fuel growth. Users can pre-deposit assets now to gain early exposure and participate in a KAT lootbox giveaway.
Built using the cdk-opgeth stack—leveraging the OP Stack and connected via Polygon’s Agglayer—Katana employs zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs powered by Succinct’s SP1 prover and Polygon’s Plonky3 for scalability and security. Conduit’s high-performance G2 Sequencer handles transaction throughput.
Backed by Polygon Labs and GSR, Katana’s infrastructure promises low slippage, stable rates, and accessible yield strategies. Chainlink provides decentralized oracles to ensure reliable data flow for DeFi applications.
Concentrated Liquidity and Ecosystem Collaborations
Katana’s liquidity strategy consolidates capital around select DeFi protocols:
- Morpho: Lending and borrowing
- Sushi: Spot liquidity and aggregation
- Vertex: Capital-efficient perpetuals
- Agora: Native stablecoin (AUSD) issuance
- Lombard: BTC-backed LBTC liquid staking
- Ether.Fi: Yield-bearing weETH
- BitVault: Institutional-grade BTC-backed instruments
Through Universal, users can access blue-chip assets like XRP, SOL, and SUI—earning yield while executing arbitrage and farming strategies without leaving the Katana ecosystem.
Five Core Pillars of Yield Optimization
Katana introduces five mechanisms to boost and sustain high yields:
- VaultBridge: Enables bridged assets like ETH, USDC, and WBTC to earn base yield on Ethereum and compounded yield on Katana.
- Network Fee Recycling: Transaction fees are reinvested to support liquidity and incentivize users.
- AUSD Revenue Sharing: Unlike centralized stablecoins, AUSD shares treasury earnings with the ecosystem.
- Core App Emissions: Token emissions from core apps are allocated to reward user participation.
- KAT Emissions: Governance token KAT empowers users to vote on emissions, aligning rewards with ecosystem health.
According to Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron, DeFi users deserve ecosystems that prioritize sustainable liquidity and consistent “real” yields.
“Katana’s user-centric model turns inefficiencies into advantages, establishing a truly positive-sum environment for builders and participants alike,” Marc added.
KAT Token: Incentivized Governance for Sustainable Growth
The Katana Foundation also introduced KAT, the network’s governance token built on the vote-escrow (ve) model. Users locking KAT receive veKAT, which allows them to influence yield emissions across DeFi pools. Pre-depositors can earn KAT through a lootbox system, with a lockup period of up to nine months.
More than a governance token, KAT aligns long-term protocol incentives by channeling emissions toward productive total value locked (TVL) and chain-owned liquidity. This fosters deeper user engagement while guarding against short-term capital flight.
Building a Productive, Resilient Ecosystem
Katana seeks to redefine how DeFi TVL is used. Instead of sitting idle, assets are deployed in lending, trading, and structured yield strategies. This capital efficiency benefits users directly while generating revenue for applications, which reinvest into the user experience.
Additionally, chain-owned liquidity built from protocol and sequencer fees acts as a stabilizer during periods of market volatility and liquidity shocks.
Katana mentioned that the public mainnet is scheduled for release in June.
Developers and early adopters can now explore Katana’s private mainnet and register for updates and pre-deposit access at katana.network.
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