Kraken Joins Optimism “Superchain” with Ethereum Rollup Ink, Following Coinbase’s Success with Base Blockchain

Kraken, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the US, is making waves in the industry with its announcement of building its own blockchain, named Ink. This blockchain will be an Ethereum rollup, offering faster and cheaper transactions for its millions of customers.

The move by Kraken to develop its own blockchain comes as a response to the growing trend of exchanges offering onchain solutions to their users. While most crypto traders rely on centralized exchanges to store and trade their assets, the industry is shifting towards decentralized solutions that allow users to interact directly with blockchain-based applications.

Kraken’s decision to build Ink follows in the footsteps of Coinbase, which launched its own Ethereum rollup, Base, earlier this year. Base has been a huge success for Coinbase, generating over $100 million in revenue in the first half of the year and becoming the largest DeFi ecosystem among Ethereum rollups.

Ink will be built using code from Optimism, a leading rollup developer that is used by companies like Sony, Uniswap, and World. Optimism chains account for nearly half of the transactions among Ethereum’s rollups, and the company plans to introduce a new token standard in 2025 to enable interoperability between blockchains using its code.

Kraken’s Ink will support this new token standard, SuperchainERC20, at launch, allowing users to easily move across the Superchain ecosystem and interact seamlessly with other Optimism-based blockchains. The exchange plans to release a test network for Ink later this year, with a final version expected to launch on Ethereum in 2025.

With over 10 million users worldwide, Kraken’s foray into building its own blockchain is a significant development in the crypto industry. The company’s commitment to providing decentralized solutions to its customers showcases its dedication to the core principles of blockchain technology.