Well, here’s the latest in the DeFi space! The Ink Foundation, the nonprofit behind the layer 2 network Ink, is making waves with its launch of the INK token. Their plan? A liquidity-first strategy to bootstrap on-chain capital markets. No gimmicks, no fluctuating emissions schedules, just straight-up, hard-capped fun. With a supply of 1 billion tokens, don’t expect any changes to that figure through governance proposals (they’re serious about that!).
The INK token will debut on a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol built on Aave. And instead of jumping straight into the governance game, the foundation is keeping things simple and separate. So, INK token holders won’t have to worry about a tangled governance system. Nice, right?
Can INK Defy the Odds?
The first use case? A liquidity protocol native to the Ink chain, designed to be a core DeFi primitive for lending and capital deployment. Ink enters a market already crowded with tokens, many of which launched in 2024 and 2025 but are now under constant pressure to sell off. Projects like Linea, Blast, and Celestia had their big moments, only to quickly see their tokens trending down.
To make matters spicier, INK launches in a market where most tokens are in decline, retail attention is scarce, and capital rotation is picky. This isn’t exactly a perfect storm for new tokens, but hey, maybe INK will surprise us.
So, what does the Ink Foundation have going for it? Well, it’s got a product that actually works. Ink’s DeFi stack currently holds just over $7 million in total value locked (TVL). Now, don’t get too excited, with only $93 in L2 revenue over the last 24 hours, it’s clear that real usage is still in its infancy. Ink is still trying to defy the trend of lackluster token launches by integrating with Aave governance and launching a functional product on day one.
In a market flooded with tokens, it’ll take more than a liquidity-first approach to stand out. Will INK be able to break the cycle and create real value, or will it just become another "delayed exit liquidity event" in a crowded DeFi space? Only time will tell.
Iryna Kovtiukh
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