Katana Network is purpose-built to fix DeFi’s biggest pain points, concentrating liquidity and delivering sustainable real returns to users.

Katana Network is an innovative blockchain created specifically for decentralised finance (DeFi). Incubated by Polygon Labs and GSR, the project tackles two persistent problems: fragmented liquidity and unstable yields. Katana’s mission is to mobilise idle assets, pool liquidity in one place, and route the resulting revenue back to users and applications. A private mainnet went live in late May 2025, marking the launch of a dedicated “DeFi chain” where every digital asset “works harder” for its owner.Below we look at Katana’s goals and architecture, the role of its KAT token, the project’s current progress, and its roadmap and prospects

Project overview

Katana positions itself as a DeFi-first blockchain—a specialised network built around the needs of DeFi users and developers. Its core objective is to eliminate liquidity fragmentation and provide durable, real-economy returns rather than short-lived emissions. Katana fosters a positive-sum ecosystem in which user, application and network incentives are fully aligned. As Polygon Labs CEO and Katana core contributor Marc Boiron put it: “Katana turns inefficiencies into an advantage, creating a genuinely win-win environment.”

Key features

• **Deep, unified liquidity.**Instead of scattering capital across dozens of platforms, Katana funnels all funds into three “core” DeFi protocols:

  • Morpho for lending

  • Sushi for spot DEX trading

    Vertex for perpetual futuresThis avoids capital dilution and builds deep markets with minimal slippage. The pooled liquidity is also available to every other chain in the Polygon Agglayer, acting as a “linear liquidity basin” for the entire network.

  **Real, sustainable yield.
  **
  User income comes from actual protocol revenue, not endless token inflation. Katana introduces “productive TVL”: assets bridged into Katana are deployed into low-risk strategies on Ethereum L1—for example, over-collateralised lending pools on Morpho. Yield earned on L1 is sent back to Katana and automatically compounded. In addition, 100 % of sequencer fees and a share of core-app revenue flow into the network treasury as Chain-Owned Liquidity (COL), which cushions market volatility and reinforces yields even in stormy periods.

  **Capital productivity & user priority.
  **
  On Katana assets never sit idle—every bridge, LP deposit or trade is rewarded. A DeFi flywheel reinvests income continuously: users bridge assets → assets earn yield on Ethereum → yield returns to Katana and boosts liquidity → active users receive rewards → more capital arrives, restarting the cycle. A future vote-escrow model will let KAT holders lock tokens for extra privileges and revenue share.

  **Architecture & infrastructure.
  **
  Katana is an Ethereum-aligned Layer 2 built with Polygon CDK, integrated with the OP Stack and enhanced by zero-knowledge proofs. It is the first network to combine Polygon Agglayer CDK, the OP stack and ZK validity proofs, enabling fast, trust-minimised withdrawals.Gas is paid in ETH; the native KAT token serves governance and incentive roles (see next section). Security follows Ethereum’s Stage-1 roll-up standard: multisigs with time-locks plus an independent DeFi Security Council that can veto critical changes. Governance will decentralise further over time.

The KAT token: utility, staking and DAO

**Governance.**KAT is the governance token of Katana. Holders will steer protocol upgrades, treasury spend and economic parameters via an on-chain DAO. A forthcoming vote-escrow (veKAT) model will reward long-term lockers with greater voting power and a share of network income.

**Staking & network security.**While Katana relies on Ethereum for settlement, future plans include staking KAT for economic guarantees—e.g. decentralised sequencers or proof generators. Infrastructure operators will likely need to post KAT stake to earn fees, while delegators can share in the revenue.

**Incentives & ecosystem growth.**A significant slice of total supply is reserved for the community. Around 15 % of KAT will be airdropped to POL stakers on Ethereum. Early pre-deposit campaigns already reward users who supply liquidity before public launch, and ongoing incentive programmes will target LPs, lenders, traders and builders.

**Revenue alignment.**Because protocol fees and off-chain yields are recycled into user rewards, KAT functions like a “dividend token” for the ecosystem. veKAT holders are expected to receive boosted yields, and the DAO will decide whether to burn, reinvest or distribute treasury profits—aligning all stakeholders around long-term value creation

Detailed information :

Current project status: development, partnerships and community

Development status

As of late May 2025 Katana runs a private mainnet, processing live transactions but limited to partners and internal testing. A public mainnet is scheduled for late June 2025 alongside token distributions and liquidity-mining campaigns. The team is finalising audits, stress tests and parameter tuning.

Products & integrations

From day one users will access the three core protocols—Morpho, Sushi Swap and Vertex—natively on Katana, with initial liquidity supplied by the treasury and market makers such as GSR. Katana also integrates Chainlink oracles and relies on Conduit for roll-up sequencing.

Partnerships

• Polygon Labs incubated Katana via the Agglayer Breakout Program and sees it as a cornerstone of Polygon 2.0’s liquidity layer.

• GSR Markets provides market-making expertise and strategic funding.

• Agglayer serves as Katana’s canonical bridge.

• VaultBridge, a Katana module, automatically deposits bridged assets into yield strategies on Ethereum, creating “revenue legos” for EVM chains.

Roadmap and prospects

• Public mainnet launch (Q2 2025). Opening the network, distributing ~15 % of KAT to POL stakers, and rolling out high-yield bootstrapping programmes. Full wallet and explorer support will accompany launch.

• Ecosystem expansion (2025). While the philosophy is to concentrate liquidity in core protocols, “hundreds of apps on top of the core” are expected—optimisers, aggregators, risk tools and more—each contributing fees to the treasury. The native stable-coin AUSD (Agora USD) will debut, backed by off-chain treasuries to create another revenue stream.

• Deeper decentralisation (2025-2026). Migration from Stage-1 to Stage-2/3 security: multiple independent sequencers, permission-less proof generation, and full DAO control via veKAT.

• Hub of Polygon 2.0 and beyond. Katana aims to become the default liquidity provider for every new Polygon L2 through Agglayer. Over time it could bridge into other ecosystems, offering a unified yield layer across Web3.

• Institutional adoption. With transparent yields, deep markets and GSR’s backing, Katana targets funds and corporates seeking stable on-chain returns. Expect pilot treasury-management programmes and CEX listings of KAT during 2025-2026.

Outlook

Katana blends proven ideas—EVM roll-ups, revenue recycling, vote-escrow—with fresh mechanisms such as VaultBridge and Chain-Owned Liquidity. If successful, it could mark the next phase of DeFi, where yield is built into the infrastructure itself and active participation pays. Backed by Polygon and GSR, Katana is well placed, though execution risks remain (technical scaling, economic balance, competitive imitation).Still, the promise is clear: “If you’re active, you win.” The coming months will show whether Katana can turn that motto into reality.