Kraken Receives $42.5 Million Grant From Optimism Foundation to Develop Layer-2 Blockchain Network Ink

The cryptocurrency exchange received a grant of 25 million OP tokens from the Optimism Foundation, currently valued at $42.5 million, to develop its new network called Ink.

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken received a grant of 25 million OP tokens from the Optimism Foundation to develop its new layer-2 network, Ink. The agreement, finalized in the opening months of 2024, was worth approximately $100 million when first arranged.

During that period, OP tokens traded within a narrow range, starting at $3.99 and reaching a peak of $4.06 in February, before settling at today’s price of roughly $1.70.

The full details of the deal emerged after Kraken announced its plans to build Ink using Optimism’s OP Stack framework. The grant splits into two portions: 5 million tokens earmarked for engineering development, and a larger 20 million token allocation tied to reaching specific transaction volume targets.

Like Base, and other T1 opportunities, Ink received a foundation grant. We will continue to share this publicly as it's key!

25M OP for this deal, 5M OP to help fund the engineering efforts for Ink, 20M for massive txn milestones to drive fees to the Collective and make it… https://t.co/HhjxUn4Qsi

— Ryan Wyatt (@Fwiz) October 29, 2024

“Each time you achieve one, then there’s different tranches that get unlocked,” explained Ink founder Andrew Koller in a recent interview. The structure includes an initial token distribution followed by milestone-based releases measured by monthly transaction volumes.

The Optimism Foundation’s Chief Growth Officer, Ryan Wyatt, took to social media platform X to provide additional context. He emphasized that 20 million tokens are specifically designated to incentivize “massive transaction milestones” that would generate fees for the Optimism Collective.

Koller noted that the grant’s size aligns with similar arrangements in the Superchain ecosystem. “The number was proposed by Optimism first,” he said, “and matches what other Superchain participants have received.”

The deal marks another major addition to Optimism’s growing network of partners. Crypto exchange Coinbase pioneered this trend by launching Base, its layer-2 network, in August 2023. Electronics manufacturer Sony followed with plans for Soneium, while popular decentralized exchange Uniswap announced its upcoming Unichain project.

Base's early entry secured different terms, including rights to receive up to 2.75% of all OP tokens over six years. With Optimism’s current token supply at 4.3 billion, this could amount to 118 million tokens for Coinbase’s layer-2 project.

More recent partnerships, including Kraken’s, are focusing heavily on performance metrics. The foundation likely expects these newer participants to drive network activity and contribute to the broader ecosystem’s growth.

The partnership goes beyond typical deployment expenses, which usually cost less than $3,000 per month. Wyatt clarified that Kraken’s responsibilities extend to “protocol engineering and development of the OP Stack,” including work on interoperability and Superchain token standards.

Public documents show the Optimism Foundation has allocated nearly 480 million tokens to its partner and seed funds, plus unallocated reserves. Wyatt promised increased transparency about these allocations moving forward.

Paid blockchain partnerships have shown mixed results in the past. A notable example includes Polygon’s $4 million grant to Starbucks in 2022 for an NFT loyalty program, which ended after 18 months of operation.

Base’s success likely influenced Kraken’s decision to join the Superchain. The Coinbase-built network has accrued $2.7 billion in total value locked as of Oct. 29, 2024, leading all Ethereum layer-2 networks according to blockchain data provider DefiLlama.

Kraken plans to position Ink as a general-purpose blockchain network, similar to Base. The exchange ultimately chose Optimism’s Superchain to strike a balance between network interoperability and the security benefits of the Ethereum blockchain.

“The Collective is not going to stop investing in developers,” Wyatt stated, indicating the foundation’s commitment to expanding its ecosystem through strategic partnerships.

The timing of the deal coincides with rising interest in layer-2 networks across the crypto industry. These systems aim to improve blockchain scalability by processing transactions more efficiently while maintaining security through connection to the main Ethereum network.

Public blockchain data shows the OP token experienced price volatility during the negotiation period, trading between $3.99 and $4.06 in early 2024 before declining to current levels around $1.70.

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