Skip to main content

​
Hacker Springboard 🚀

Welcome hackers! This is your launchpad for building innovative DeFi applications on Katana. Whether you’re new to the ecosystem or ready to dive deep, we’ve got everything you need to start hacking.

​
Introduction to Katana

Katana is a chain designed specifically for DeFi that rethinks how decentralized finance should work. Unlike other chains where liquidity is fragmented across hundreds of protocols, Katana concentrates all liquidity into carefully selected core applications: Morpho for lending, Sushi for spot trading, Vertex for perpetuals, Universal for RWA, etc etc. This creates unprecedented depth and composability for developers building the next generation of financial applications. What makes Katana unique is its sustainable approach to yield generation. Through innovative mechanisms like Vault Bridge (which deploys bridged assets into productive yield strategies), Chain-Owned Liquidity (funded by 100% of sequencer fees, CoL yield, and other mechanisms), and revenue sharing like that with Agora USD - the Treasury backed stablecoin - Katana creates multiple yield streams that benefit all participants. This means higher, more sustainable yields for users and deeper liquidity pools for developers to build on top of.

​
Quick Start

Development Kit

Clone the SpecialK starter kit and start building in minutes

Developer Chat

Join the Telegram group for real-time support and collaboration

Developer Tools

Essential utilities and interfaces for Katana development

Ecosystem Explorer

Discover projects and opportunities in the Katana ecosystem

Katana Primitives Overview

Learn the core primitives you can compose

What to Build

22 build ideas mapped to Katana primitives

​
Katana-Adjacent Technology

Understanding the broader technology stack will help you build more powerful and interoperable applications.

​
AggLayer: Cross-Chain Interoperability

  • AggLayer Overview
  • AggLayer Deep Dive
The AggLayer is a trustless, cross-chain interoperability protocol that connects Katana to a growing network of chains, creating a unified liquidity layer across the entire ecosystem. For hackathon builders, this means your Katana applications can seamlessly interact with assets and users from multiple blockchains without complex bridge integrations or trust assumptions. AggLayer enables powerful use cases like cross-chain yield farming, unified asset management, and chain-abstracted user experiences. When you build on Katana, you’re not just accessing Katana’s deep liquidity - you’re tapping into the shared liquidity of the entire AggLayer ecosystem. This opens up possibilities for innovative applications that were previously impossible with traditional bridge-based approaches.

Learn More

Explore AggLayer documentation and technical specifications

​
Polygon: Battle-Tested Infrastructure

Polygon stands as one of blockchain’s most proven and adopted networks, delivering 99.99% uptime over 5 years with over 5 billion transactions processed. With Q2 2024 alone seeing 300 million transactions at an average fee of <0.001 POL and 1.2M daily active addresses, Polygon demonstrates the scale and reliability that enterprise applications demand. The network’s explosive growth in real-world usage is undeniable: 2.8B USD in stablecoin supply (up 40% in Q2), 385B USD in stablecoin volume, and 236 million stablecoin transfers completed in just one quarter. Small-to-medium peer-to-peer USDC payments grew 75% from Q1, while large payments over 10k USD surged 30%, totaling 15.8B USD in Q2 alone. World-class institutions including Apollo, China AMC, Spiko, Mercado Bitcoin, and Securitize have integrated Polygon, making it the ecosystem leader in on/off ramp integration and cross-chain support with net flows second only to Ethereum. While not yet connected to AggLayer, Polygon’s assets can be bridged to Katana through multiple bridges, particularly via portal.polygon.technology. Deploying assets from Polygon to Katana is the right way to go about doing things - maximize yield while leveraging the undefeatable reach of Polygon.

Explore Polygon

Discover Polygon’s technology and ecosystem

​
Hackathon Resources

Get started in 5 minutes:
  1. Clone the starter kit: git clone https://github.com/katana-network/specialk
  2. Install dependencies: bun install
  3. Start local fork: bun run start:anvil katana
  4. Build and run: bun run build:all && bun run dev
You’re now running a local Katana environment with real mainnet state!
Build on proven primitives:
  • Morpho: Lending and borrowing with optimized rates
  • Sushi: AMM trading with concentrated liquidity
  • Vertex: Perpetual futures and derivatives
  • Vault Bridge: Productive yield on bridged assets
  • Agora USD: Treasury-backed stablecoin with native yield
See the full overview on Katana primitives.
Essential tools for rapid development:
Get help when you need it:

​
Inspiration: What to Build

For a complete catalog of ideas, see What to Build.

Browse 22 Build Ideas

Explore 22 hackathon-ready concepts mapped to money

Yield Strategies

Build automated strategies that optimize across Katana’s multiple yield sources

Cross-Chain DApps

Create applications that leverage AggLayer for seamless multi-chain experiences

Trading Interfaces

Design new UIs for Sushi or Vertex that improve the trading experience

Lending Protocols

Build specialized lending markets on top of Morpho’s infrastructure

Asset Management

Create portfolio management tools that utilize all of Katana’s DeFi primitives

Analytics Dashboards

Build data visualization tools for Katana’s concentrated liquidity model

​
Network Information

  • Katana Mainnet
  • Local Development
PropertyValue
Chain ID747474
RPC URLhttps://rpc.katana.network/
Block Explorerhttps://katanascan.com/
Bridgehttps://app.katana.network

​
Ready to Hack?

Hackathon Checklist:

Start Building

Follow our quickstart guide to set up your development environment

Get Support

Join our developer community for real-time help and collaboration
Happy hacking! 🎯
⌘I