The Wait is Over: Katana TGE is Here
Today, Katana enters its next phase.
The vKAT Armory, Katana’s chain-level incentive coordination engine, is now live. KAT is now transferable, and the work we’ve put in over the past several months can finally be put to work inside the Katana economy.
Stake in the first 72 hours to earn “Founding Staker” status and benefits.
If you’ve been with us through the campaigns, the pre-deposits, the liquidity, the learning, and the sharing: THANK YOU. You didn’t just participate, you helped shape the foundation of Katana’s DeFi-first chain. You helped sharpen Katana!
But that was just the beginning. Now the flywheel moves into full force.
Stake your KAT, vote for the pools you want, and earn from the activity you help create across the Katana DeFi ecosystem.
Didn’t Pre-stake? No sweat, samurai. You can still earn “Founding Staker” status by staking within the first 72 hours.
Read more about the first 60 days of the vKAT Armory and Founding Stakers here: https://katana.network/blog/kat-pre-staking-stake-early-earn-more
What to do today?
If you’re reading this on March 18, 2026 (or after), here’s the simplest way to participate:
Open the Katana web app: https://app.katana.network/stake
Then:
If you have liquid KAT and want Founding Staker eligibility: stake within 72 hours of TGE. Founding Stakers become eligible for a share of the accumulated exit-fees from the first 60 days.
Why 72 hours matters: exit fees collected during the stabilization window are distributed exclusively to Founding Stakers. If you stake after 72h, you earn normal yield but miss this distribution entirely.
Then choose your path
vKAT = manual voting + custom strategy
avKAT = auto-vote logic + auto-compound
If you have vKAT already: vote to direct emissions and start earning from the pools you support.
The time has come to join the vKAT Armory. Stake, vote, and earn. The Katana way.
A quick recap: how we got here
Over the past several months, the Katana community earned KAT and/or vKAT by doing what matters most for a DeFi-native network: showing up early, contributing capital, using the ecosystem, and growing mindshare.
Here’s how that effort showed up across the network:
Katana Krate pre-depositors earned KAT from opening Krates, plus bonus vKAT based on how early and how much they participated.
DeFi users earned KAT by using the Katana ecosystem. Providing liquidity, borrowing, and participating across venues like Morpho, Sushi, Spectra, Yearn, and more.
Kaito Yappers earned vKAT for learning about Katana and sharing what they learned, helping increase Katana’s mindshare.
All of that activity was building toward one moment. This moment. The system comes to life.
What changes at TGE
With TGE, Katana transitions from “earning” to “earning & coordinating.” Starting today:
KAT is transferable
KAT moves from a campaign-earned asset into a token you can actively stake, allocate, and deploy.
The vKAT system comes to life
KAT holders can stake KAT to receive vKAT, unlocking the ability to vote on emissions and earn fees.
Users who earned vKAT can now put that voting power to work immediately.
Emissions become user-directed
Each epoch vKAT voters direct where future KAT rewards flow. That vote doesn’t just influence incentives, it determines which markets get deeper liquidity, better execution, and more activity as a result of those directed emissions. As a result, vKAT voters earn a portion of the revenue generated by their votes.
The Katana DeFi Flywheel, explained (now with vKAT)
Katana’s novel design pushes incentives toward productive DeFi. The loop is simple:
Votes → Emissions → Liquidity → Volume/Activity → Fees → Rewards to voters → Repeat.
When you stake KAT and vote with vKAT, you’re doing two things at once:
Directing incentives toward the DeFi pools you want to see win on Katana
Earning from the activity you helped create, through fees generated by those pools (plus exit fees and vote incentive)
This is the first time users will be able to participate in the Katana Flywheel in its full and intended form.
Your two main paths: vKAT or avKAT
Katana’s vKAT system is built to serve different styles of participation, from hands-on allocators to fully passive holders.
Option 1: vKAT - manual control + custom rewards
With vKAT, you decide where emissions go.
Stake KAT → receive vKAT
Vote each epoch to direct KAT emissions to the markets/pools you want
Earn fees from the DeFi pools you vote for
Optionally receive additional Vote Incentives from protocols competing for your votes
Configure rewards for flexibility, receiving rewards in the tokens available in the interface
At launch, voting starts with SushiSwap DEX pools, then expands over time across more of Katana’s DeFi stack: Morpho, Spectra, perps, and more.
Option 2: avKAT - auto-vote + auto-compound
avKAT is designed for participants who want exposure to the Katana Flywheel without actively directing their vote on every epoch. avKAT is a liquid, yield-bearing ERC-20 representation of vKAT:
It auto-votes using an automated strategy
Rewards auto-compound back into the position over time
Because rewards are compounded, the avKAT:KAT exchange rate may increase over time as yield is reinvested within the avKAT wrapper
Need liquidity? avKAT is tradeable on SushiSwap anytime. vKAT requires a cooldown period to exit
Where vKAT is “choose your allocations,” avKAT is “set it and let it run.”
Additional third option: KAT - do nothing / hold liquid KAT
Not ready to stake? You can hold liquid KAT.
doesn't earn fees, can't vote, and doesn't qualify for Founding Staker status.
For more on the differences between KAT, vKAT, and avKAT: Inside the vKAT Armory
Built for alignment: the first 60 days
Katana’s launch begins with a 60-day stabilization window designed to reward committed stakers, the true believers in the Katana DeFi Flywheel and the vKAT Armory.
During this window, vKAT exits use an elevated fee schedule (all tapering to 2.5% over a 60-day cooldown period):
Day 0–14: max exit fee 80%; 2.5% after 60 days
Day 15–30: max exit fee 60%; 2.5% after 60 days
Day 31–45: max exit fee 45%; 2.5% after 60 days
Day 46–60: max exit fee 30%; 2.5% after 60 days
Day 61+: max exit fee 25% steady state; 2.5% after 45 days
To learn more about the first 60 Days of the vKAT Armory, read: https://katana.network/blog/kat-pre-staking-stake-early-earn-more
Why voting matters
When you vote with vKAT, you’re acting as a liquidity director for Katana. Each epoch, vKAT holders direct KAT emissions across eligible DeFi pools. DeFi pools that receive more votes receive more emissions, which typically attracts more liquidity and deepens execution.
In return, voters earn:
fees generated by the pools/markets they vote for
vote incentives offered by protocols that want to attract emissions
exit fees from those unstaking their vKAT position
This aligns the network toward productive outcomes: the best projects on Katana compete to earn emissions by generating activity and rewarding aligned voters.
This is just the beginning
The vKAT Armory is not the end goal. It is the beginning of a new model for how chains and DeFi can work.
A model where users coordinate incentives, deepen liquidity, and earn from the activity they help create.
What starts today is bigger than any one participant. The flywheel will grow stronger with every staker, every voter, and every builder who joins it.
Today, the flywheel grows stronger.
Join the Katana community
Stay informed, engaged, and connected:
Are you a DeFi builder? Join us
This is the moment you’ve been waiting for. The future of DeFi is Katana.
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Program Details & Disclaimer: This post is not investment, legal or tax advice and users are encouraged to consult personal investment, legal and tax advisors. This post and its contents, including the above-referenced statements related to any token, rewards, distributions, or program (“Program”), may be modified or terminated at any time without notice, and is subject to the Katana Foundation terms and conditions (here https://app.katana.network/legal/terms-and-conditions). Governance of the program, interpretation of terms, and application and eligibility of the Program to individuals is subject to the interpretation and sole discretion of the Katana Foundation. Participation in crypto and emerging blockchain technology involves risk, and by participating in the Program you agree not to hold Katana Foundation liable for any losses or damages that you may incur for any reason including without limitation technology errors, investment value declines, or Program administration.
The Katana ecosystem includes third-party protocols, applications, and services (including without limitation Sushi, Morpho, Spectra, Yearn, Kensei, and other DeFi venues referenced herein) (each, an "Ecosystem Participant"). The Katana Foundation does not control, operate, endorse, or assume responsibility for any Ecosystem Participant or their respective tokens, programs, distributions, liquidity mining campaigns, incentive structures, or other offerings. Any descriptions of Ecosystem Participant activity in this post are provided for informational context only. The Katana Foundation makes no representation or warranty regarding the performance, security, availability, or continued participation of any Ecosystem Participant in the Katana ecosystem, and expressly disclaims all liability for any loss or damage arising from your interaction with any Ecosystem Participant or their products. You are solely responsible for independently evaluating any Ecosystem Participant and their offerings before participating.
