Crypto exchange Kraken announced the launch of the Ink L2 blockchain based on OP Stack: the exchange opens a gateway to the DeFi ecosystem for 10 million clients
The American cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has officially announced the development of its own second-level network called Ink. As reported in a publication on the corporate blog of the trading platform on blog.kraken.com, the new L2 network is built on the basis of the modular OP Stack framework and will become a full-fledged participant in the Optimism Superchain ecosystem. The developers position Ink as a direct institutional and retail bridge between the centralized exchange platform and the decentralized finance (DeFi) space.
Commenting on the large-scale announcement in the official press release, the new co-CEO of Kraken, Arjun Sethi, emphasized that the goal of launching Ink is to eliminate the technical complexity of Web3 and provide the platform’s 10 million clients with a seamless experience of interacting with on-chain protocols directly from the familiar exchange interface.
What architecture did the Ink-network get and why did Kraken choose the Optimism Superchain alliance?
In the published technical documentation, Kraken developers described in detail the architectural advantages of the solution and the logic of integration into the Optimism ecosystem:
- Superchain Unified Security Standards: Ink is deployed as an Optimistic Rollup, inheriting the cryptographic security of Ethereum’s base layer. Joining Superchain guarantees native interoperability with Sony’s OP Mainnet, Base, Zora, World Chain and Soneium networks.
- Ultra-fast blocks and minimal commissions: The block formation time in Ink will be less than 1 second (at the testnet stage – about 200 ms), and the average transaction cost will not exceed $0.01 thanks to the integration of the EIP-4844 block space (blobs).
- Revenue sharing with Optimism Collective: Under the terms of the partnership, the Kraken exchange will independently operate the chain’s sequencer, but a portion of the fees collected will go to the Optimism Collective treasury to fund public goods (RetroPGF) and open source development.
How will launching-ink-simplify-defi-working-for-millions-of-exchange-users?
According to the Kraken technical team, Ink’s key advantage will be the radical reduction of barriers to entry into the decentralized economy:
- Account abstraction without purchasing ETH: With support for the EIP-7702 standard and smart wallets, users will not need to manually purchase and transfer ETH to pay for gas. Network fees can be paid in stablecoins USDC and USDT or debited directly from the Kraken exchange balance.
- Built-in institutional liquidity pools: Kraken intends to provide on-chain developers with direct access to its liquidity pools by launching native lending protocols, decentralized exchanges (DEX) and its own branded perpetual contracts platforms.
- Testnet and mainnet launch dates: The Ink public testnet will open for validators and smart contract developers in November 2026 as part of Devcon in Bangkok, and the full release of the mainnet and integration into the Kraken mobile application is scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.
Will Kraken be able to repeat the success of Coinbase-Base and change-the-balance-of-power-in-the-L2-sector?
Kraken’s decision to launch its own rollup marks the finalization of the main trend of 2026 – the transformation of centralized exchanges into operators of key L2 infrastructure:
- Direct competition with the Base ecosystem: Until now, Coinbase has held the undisputed leadership among exchange rollups: the TVL of the Base network has exceeded $2.6 billion, and the daily transaction volume has consistently remained above 4 million transfers. The emergence of Ink creates a powerful counterbalance that can redistribute liquidity among leading American trading platforms.
- Retaining the audience within their own ecosystem: Launching their own blockchain allows exchanges to retain commission income from users who previously went to external networks (Arbitrum, Solana, Polygon), forming a closed financial cycle from fiat deposit to participation in complex protocols for profitable farming.
The crypto market isn't just about numbers—it's a complex ecosystem where politics, technology, and economics intertwine. In my news coverage, I strive not merely to recount events, but to analyze their real impact on the market. My goal is to make cryptocurrency news clear, accessible, and objective.
