- Katana acquired decentralized exchange IDEX and launched a new perpetual futures product.
- The move expands Katana beyond its original role as a blockchain infrastructure project into onchain trading and market infrastructure.
- Katana Perps launches with backing from market makers including GSR, Selini Capital and Auros.
Katana, a blockchain project incubated by Polygon Labs and GSR, said it has acquired decentralized exchange IDEX and launched a new perpetual futures product. This marks Katana entry into one of crypto’s fastest-growing trading segments.
The move comes as the U.S. derivatives regulator signals it is preparing to allow crypto-linked perpetual futures in the country, a step that could bring a product long dominated by offshore venues closer to the U.S. market. CFTC Chairman Mike Selig said earlier this month the agency was working toward permitting such contracts within weeks.
Perpetual futures have become a core part of digital-asset trading because they let investors take leveraged positions without an expiry date.
Activity has also been shifting toward decentralized venues, with one industry estimate putting January decentralized perpetuals volume at $739.48 billion, or 10.2% of the global total, up sharply from two years earlier.
Katana said the acquisition of IDEX will help it combine spot and derivatives trading inside a single onchain system.
The company also launched Katana Perps, a platform for leveraged trading that it said is backed at launch by market makers including GSR, Selini Capital and Auros.
The expansion is the first major strategic step under newly named CEO Matthew Fisher. Fisher said the company was moving to control more of its own trading infrastructure and revenue streams as around-the-clock markets become more important for price discovery.
“When I became CEO, I decided that Katana needed to own more of its stack and the revenues attached to it,” Fisher said in a statement shared with AlexaBlockchain.
“IDEX and Katana Perps are the first moves in that direction,” Fisher added.
The timing also reflects how macro events are increasingly spilling into crypto’s 24/7 trading venues outside traditional market hours.
Hyperliquid’s oil-linked trading volumes have risen amid Middle East tensions, JPMorgan linked the surge to volatility created when conventional markets were shut. Brent crude briefly surged above $119 this month during the regional conflict.
Katana is betting that constant trading conditions will increase demand for integrated onchain markets, especially if regulatory conditions improve in the U.S. The company said its aim is to bring spot liquidity, routing and derivatives into a unified trading environment for both crypto-native and institutional users.
IDEX, founded in 2017, was one of the earliest decentralized exchanges to combine offchain matching with onchain settlement, a hybrid structure designed to deliver faster execution while preserving user custody. Its model sought to blend centralized-exchange speed with decentralized settlement.
Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs, said Fisher had been central to Katana’s development and that the latest move reflected ‘growing demand for more advanced onchain trading infrastructure’.
Katana did not disclose financial terms of the IDEX acquisition. It said more details on the future of the existing IDEX product and the treatment of the IDEX token would be shared later through official channels.
The article “Katana Targets Onchain Derivatives Expansion With IDEX Acquisition and Perps Launch” was first published on AlexaBlockchain. Read the complete article here: https://alexablockchain.com/Katana-Onchain-Derivatives-IDEX-Acquisition-Perps-Launch/
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