Injective (INJ)
Injective Protocol is a layer-2 decentralized exchange (DEX) founded by Eric Chen and Albert Chon. The platform offers advanced trading features such as margin trading and derivatives. On November 30, 2020, Injective Protocol launched its public Solstice testnet. In April 2021, the company raised $10 million in a funding round with participation from Mark Cuban, Pantera Capital, BlockTower Capital, Hashed Ventures, CMS Holdings, and QCP Capital.
Key features of Injective Chain
The Injective Chain is a decentralized sidechain relayer network that serves as a layer-2 derivatives platform, trade execution coordinator (TEC), and decentralized order book. Its core consensus is based on Tendermint. The Injective Chain provides an Ethereum peg zone for transferring Ether and ERC-20 tokens and an EVM-compatible environment for DeFi applications. Market creation is open and permissionless, allowing users to create markets using price feeds. The zero gas fee structure ensures users can trade without worrying about high fees.
Solstice Testnet
| Ticker | INJ |
| Category | Smart Contract Platform |
| Website | https://injective.com |
| @injective | |
| Telegram | joininjective |
| https://www.reddit.com/r/injective/ | |
| Contract Addresses | |
|---|---|
| ethereum | 0xe2...30 Copied! |
| cosmos | ib...73Copied! |
| secret | se...ewCopied! |
| binance-smart-chain | 0xa2...95Copied! |
Launch of Solstice Testnet
Injective Protocol announced the launch of the Solstice testnet on November 30, 2020, featuring nine initial perpetual markets with live price feeds. These markets included Injective, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Coin, Polkadot, Elrond, Chainlink, Uniswap, and Yearn Finance. Solstice was invite-only, allowing users early access and additional rewards.
Solstice V2 and Solstice Pro
Solstice V2 launched on December 8, 2020, with enhancements such as a new interface, tooltips for new traders, and listings for Keep3r Network and The Graph. Solstice Pro introduced on December 29, 2020, offered institutional-grade products like expiry futures and a comprehensive trade history view.
Yield farming derivative and decentralized stock futures trading
On December 15, 2020, Injective launched the first yield farming derivative based on a Yearn Finance Vault. On December 24, 2020, Injective became the first platform to offer decentralized stock futures trading, partnering with Band Protocol and Terra's Mirror Protocol.
Equinox Staking
Introduced in February 2021, Equinox Staking provided early access to Injective's staking features and rewards. Validators operated nodes globally, and the platform applied a Tendermint Proof-of-Stake mechanism. Equinox genesis validators included Chorus, Certus One, and others.
Injective Learn and architecture
Injective Learn
In January 2021, Injective introduced Injective Learn, a blockchain education platform offering comprehensive tutorials for all experience levels.
Components of Injective Protocol
Injective Protocol consists of five main components: Injective Chain, Injective Exchange Client, Injective API Provider, Injective EVM RPC provider, and Injective Bridge Contracts on Ethereum.
Injective Chain and DEX contracts
The Injective Chain supports smart contract execution by implementing the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) on the Cosmos-SDK. The decentralized exchange (DEX) protocol supports peer-to-peer spot and derivatives trading, implemented through smart contracts. The 0x V3 Exchange Protocol is used for spot markets, while the Injective Derivatives Protocol is used for derivatives markets.
INJ Tokenomics
Governance and collateral backing
The INJ token governs the exchange and incentivizes nodes to stake INJ. The governance process involves submitting proposals, voting, and software upgrades. For collateral backing, INJ tokens are used instead of stablecoins, serving as an alternative for the Injective derivatives market.
Exchange fee value accrual and security
The exchange fee value accrual involves burning excess tokens after relayers are paid, reducing the INJ supply and increasing demand. Injective Protocol incentivizes staking through rewards, increasing network strength and security.
Team and partnerships
Founders and team
Injective Protocol was founded by Eric Chen (CEO) and Albert Chon (CTO). The team includes Max Kupriianov as Principal Engineer and other core engineers and business development professionals.
Notable partnerships
Injective has partnered with various organizations, including Arbitrum, Binance Smart Chain, Matic, Fantom, and many others, to expand its ecosystem and enhance cross-chain trading capabilities.
Funding and ecosystem support
Funding rounds
Injective Protocol raised $2.6 million in July 2020 and $10 million in April 2021. In August 2022, Injective raised $40 million to accelerate Web3 finance adoption.
Ecosystem fund
In January 2023, Injective launched a $150 million ecosystem fund to support developers building on the Cosmos network. The fund is backed by venture capital and Web3 firms, offering support through investments, mentorship, and technical assistance.
Recent developments
Solana layer-2 testnet and liquid staking
On March 30, 2023, Injective launched a layer-2 testnet utilizing Solana's Sea Level Virtual Machine. On April 3, 2023, Injective introduced liquid staking for its native token INJ, enabling liquidity and yield generation opportunities.
Open Liquidity Program and inEVM layer-2 testnet
On June 6, 2023, the Open Liquidity Program was launched, allowing users to earn INJ rewards by providing liquidity. On September 19, 2023, Injective released the testnet of its inEVM Layer 2 rollup solution, enabling Ethereum applications to run natively on the network.