Injective Protocol is a layer-1 decentralized trading protocol that supports decentralized contracts for difference (CFDs), permanent swaps and other derivatives markets without paying gas fees.The decentralized cross-chain bridging infrastructure is compatible with Ethereum, IBC-enabled blockchains, and non EVM chains such as Solana.

Injective Protocol consists of Injective Chain, Injective Futures and Injective DEX. Injective Chain avoids the drawbacks of the Ethereum blockchain and achieves a jump in performance. Injective Futures enables users to trade richer derivative assets with higher efficiency and experience. Injective DEX provides support for cross-chain asset transactions with better liquidity.

INJ is a native asset of Injective Protocol and can be used for a variety of functions, such as protocol governance similar to Yearn Finance (YFI) through DAO, value capture for transaction fees, derivatives collateral, liquidity mining, and Staking.

CEO Eric Chen and CTO Albert Chon co-founded Injective Labs in 2018. In the fourth quarter of 2022, Injective integrates with Kraken Exchange's mainnet for more liquidity.

In 2024, Injective Protocol made significant strides in expanding its cross-chain and layer-2 capabilities. The launch of the inEVM architecture enabled seamless integration with the Ethereum ecosystem while maintaining compatibility with the Cosmos IBC ecosystem. This advancement provided developers with the ability to deploy decentralized applications (dApps) using various virtual machines, such as WebAssembly (WASM) and the Injective-specific inEVM, which are optimized for different use cases. This interoperability allows Injective to bridge assets and functionalities across multiple blockchain networks, making it a leading player in the development of cross-chain DeFi solutions.

Additionally, Injective introduced new decentralized applications and partnerships that further enriched its ecosystem. Notable launches include the Mito automated DeFi hub, which enables users to participate in project launches and bootstrap markets directly from the platform. Other significant releases, such as the native Injective wallet (Ninji Wallet) and new liquidity staking protocols like Gryphon, have expanded the protocol's offerings in DeFi and NFT sectors. By the end of 2024, Injective had processed over 347 million on-chain transactions and produced more than 52 million blocks on its mainnet, cementing its position as one of the fastest and most scalable blockchains in the Cosmos ecosystem.

Above are only for introduction, not intended as investment advice.