Katana has acquired decentralized exchange IDEX and launched an integrated perpetuals trading platform. The deal turns Katana into a core liquidity hub for Polygon’s Agglayer ecosystem and gives IDEX a new home as a perps-focused venue.
What Katana Is Building on Polygon
Katana is a DeFi-focused rollup that aims to provide deep liquidity and real yield for apps inside Polygon’s Agglayer network. Polygon and GSR backed the project through the Agglayer Breakout Program, which supports chains that can drive activity across the shared liquidity layer. Conduit powers Katana’s infrastructure, including its sequencer and developer tools, to support high throughput and DeFi workloads.
The chain uses Agglayer as its main bridge and VaultBridge to route capital into yield strategies. Katana plans to act as the main pool of liquidity that other Agglayer chains can tap on day one. Polygon has described Katana as a “DeFi-first chain” built specifically to keep assets working, rather than sitting idle.
Why Katana Wanted IDEX
IDEX is one of the older decentralized exchanges in crypto and has tested several models over time. It started as an Ethereum DEX in 2017 and later moved toward a hybrid order book and AMM design to support real-time trading. By 2026, some analysts listed IDEX as a leading omnichain perps DEX with support across Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Polkadot.
Katana’s move to “snap up” IDEX gives the chain a ready-made perps engine, user base, and brand for its DeFi stack. The integrated platform will let traders access perpetual futures that settle on Katana while using liquidity from across Agglayer and other connected chains. This fits the broader 2026 trend where perpetual DEXs see higher volumes and new participants as on-chain leverage grows.
Under the new setup, IDEX’s perps platform runs on Katana’s infrastructure and plugs into its liquidity network. Traders can open leveraged long and short positions on major crypto pairs without expiry, using collateral posted on-chain. Katana’s design routes liquidity from partners like Morpho, SushiSwap, and Vertex to support lending, spot trading, and perps in one environment.
The integration should help reduce fragmentation by letting Agglayer chains tap Katana’s perps liquidity instead of launching isolated DEXs. Builders can deploy apps on Katana or other Agglayer rollups and still access a shared derivatives market. Polygon and Katana also plan a KAT token airdrop to POL stakers, which could further align incentives between the base ecosystem and the new perps hub.
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