Katana’s $240 Million Launch Bets On The Future Of Verticalized DeFi

Key Points

1. Katana is incubated by Polygon Labs and GSR, offering a capital-efficient alternative to fragmented Layer 2 ecosystems with protocols like Morpho for lending, Sushi for trading, and Vertex for perps.

2. The platform features VaultBridge, which deploys bridged assets into yield-generating strategies on Ethereum and recycles sequencer fees and stablecoin yields back into the ecosystem.

3. Katana introduces chain-owned liquidity and integrates AUSD, a stablecoin capturing off-chain yield from U.S. Treasuries and repo markets, to enhance user returns.

4. The project uses Polygon’s CDK framework and OP Stack, with finality provided by Succinct’s SP1 zk prover, aiming for high throughput and fast bridging between Ethereum and other AggLayer-connected chains.

5. Katana’s tri-token governance model ties compounding value to its native token KAT, with vKAT holders directing protocols and benefiting from network activity.