Katana, supported by its native token KAT, is engineered to deliver an optimized DeFi experience, offering exceptional liquidity across protocols such as Morpho (lending), Sushi (spot DEX), and Vertex (perpetuals DEX).
Drawing from five different sources of yield, Katana is set to introduce a new DeFi paradigm for risk-takers, whales, and institutions, alongside strategic partners like Conduit, Chainlink, and Blockworks.
May 28, 2025 — The Katana Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to building the best DeFi experience for users of all types, has announced the launch of Katana’s private mainnet, a blockchain tailored to decentralized finance, designed to enhance asset productivity through consistently higher yields and significantly deeper liquidity.
Unlike the typical fragmented DeFi landscape, Katana concentrates liquidity into selected protocols and aggregates yield from all available sources to power a self-sustaining system with long-term growth in mind. Starting today, pre-deposits are live, giving users a chance to earn KAT by participating early. The public mainnet is expected to launch in June.
Developed with early-stage support from GSR and Polygon Labs, Katana is entering the scene with several key partners:
Conduit, a leading rollup platform managing over $4 billion in TVL across hosted chains.
Chainlink, the most widely adopted decentralized oracle network, which powers DeFi operations with secure and reliable data feeds.
Blockworks, a premier crypto media and data firm, contributing ecosystem content and in-depth analytics.
A Complete and Optimized DeFi Experience for Everyone
Katana was created with all user profiles in mind. In a world where DeFi users dominate on-chain activity, Katana enables them to earn higher returns and interact with DeFi building blocks in a highly optimized yield-driven environment.
Purpose-built for users seeking yield opportunities, Katana unlocks latent asset value through a unified ecosystem that makes every token work harder, offering stronger and more consistent returns than other platforms.
Built with Institutions in Mind
As the DeFi space matures, institutional interest will keep growing. Yet, structural challenges remain: fragmented liquidity and ongoing value leakage hinder efficiency. Katana has been crafted to address these issues by securing deep, concentrated liquidity, minimizing slippage, and stabilizing borrowing and lending rates.
Supported by Industry Titans
GSR will provide liquidity management and cross-chain support while incubating new DeFi protocols through its venture division.
Polygon Labs played a key role during Katana’s early development, offering technical guidance and strategic direction as part of its Agglayer Breakout program.
“We’re proud to collaborate on Katana. Our involvement reflects GSR’s increasing commitment to incubating and advising DeFi ecosystems,” said Jakob Palmstierna, President of GSR.
“Beyond providing capital, we help build accessible and sustainable platforms. Katana allows us to apply our market expertise to activate real yield and concentrated liquidity.”
Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs, added: “DeFi users deserve networks that prioritize sustainable liquidity and dependable returns. Katana transforms inefficiencies into strengths, creating a fertile and rewarding environment for builders and users alike.”
A Secure Architecture Powered by ZK Technology
Katana is built on cdk-opgeth, a custom stack based on OP Stack, connected to Agglayer and enhanced with zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs to boost security. This gives developers access to familiar tools, while users benefit from fast confirmations and cryptographic guarantees.
The ZK proofs are generated by Succinct’s SP1, a production-grade zkVM using Polygon’s Plonky3 proving system. The network is operated with support from Conduit, leveraging its powerful G2 Sequencer.
A Liquidity-First DeFi Ecosystem
Katana centralizes liquidity within a curated set of leading DeFi protocols, providing users with:
Enhanced capital efficiency
Significantly reduced slippage
More favorable rates
Core protocols within the Katana ecosystem include:
Morpho for optimized lending and borrowing
Sushi for deep spot liquidity and trading aggregation
Vertex for capital-efficient perpetual trading
On top of this foundation, hundreds or even thousands of new applications can be built, all benefiting from the existing depth of liquidity.
Liquidity is also consolidated across functionally similar assets, such as stablecoins, BTC, and ETH:
Agora for issuing AUSD, the network’s native stablecoin
Lombard for LBTC, a liquid, yield-bearing version of BTC
Ether.Fi for weETH, a wrapped ETH variant that provides staking and restaking rewards
BitVault for institutional-grade BTC-backed money
To allow trading of non-native blue-chip assets like XRP, SOL, or SUI, Universal will bridge them into Katana, along with their staked, yield-bearing versions. This way, users can trade these assets within the Katana ecosystem and gain higher returns than they would on their native chains, while executing strategies like looping, arbitrage, and yield farming.
Sustainably Higher Yield, Engineered for Performance
Katana is built to tackle the toughest DeFi challenges using five performance-focused pillars:
1. VaultBridge
Bridged assets (ETH, WBTC, USDC, USDT) earn yield from Ethereum and compound it again on Katana.
Everyone wins.
2. Network Fees
Fees and a portion of app revenue are reinvested back into the ecosystem, to incentivize users, deepen liquidity, and fund growth.
Everyone wins.
3. AUSD Revenue
AUSD, supported by institutions like VanEck and State Street, shares its earnings with the network instead of hoarding them like traditional stablecoins.
Everyone wins.
4. Core App Emissions
Core apps dedicate their native tokens to reward users, increasing yields and boosting loyalty.
Everyone wins.
5. KAT Emissions
KAT holders will govern how emissions are distributed across DeFi pools, aligning long-term incentives with real usage.
Everyone wins.
Scalability Driven by Participation
The more bridged assets, the higher the yield.
The more AUSD deposited, the more rewards for users.
The more sequencer activity, the greater the returns.
Katana grows with its users. It’s designed to scale sustainably and keep liquidity steady over time. Chain-owned revenue and protocol earnings are continually reinvested in the ecosystem, reducing reliance on short-term incentives.
This model builds long-term stability and serves as a shock absorber during times of volatility. Core apps aren’t operating in isolation, they’re actively contributing to Katana’s overall resilience.
Everyone wins.
Active, Productive TVL That Drives Value
On Katana, TVL is never idle. All assets are actively deployed into lending, trading, and yield strategies that maximize capital efficiency and generate returns for both apps and users.
Unlike chains that chase inflated metrics with inactive capital, Katana makes every token productive. Apps benefit from this economic activity, using it to reinvest in improving user experience.
Everyone wins.
KAT: Ownership, Incentives, and Growth in Harmony
The Katana Foundation also unveils KAT, its native token designed to align users with network development.
Built on a vote-escrow (ve) model, users can receive KAT via lootbox rewards after pre-depositing ETH, USDC, USDT, or WBTC. After a maximum lock-up of 9 months (or sooner if unlocked by the foundation), holders can convert their tokens into veKAT, gaining voting rights over emissions allocation.
KAT is more than governance, it channels emissions toward productive TVL and deeper chain-owned liquidity, reinforcing long-term value creation over short-term speculation.
Private Mainnet Now Available
Katana’s private mainnet is officially live. Developers and early users can now begin exploring its foundational applications.
Visit katana.network to get started.
Read more:
Bitcoin and Ethereum can work for you: here’s how the Katana ecosystem makes it happen