TL;DR
- Vertex will shut down its DEX on Arbitrum and migrate its infrastructure to Ink, a Layer 2 network backed by Kraken, eliminating its VRTX token.
- VRTX holders will receive 1% of Ink’s initial token supply through an airdrop, following a snapshot on July 8. Unvested and treasury tokens will be burned.
- Ink Foundation will absorb Vertex’s team and technology to strengthen its onchain capital markets strategy, focusing on perpetuals, money markets, and base-layer integrated trading.
Vertex confirmed it will shut down its decentralized exchange on Arbitrum and migrate its entire infrastructure to Ink, a Layer 2 network developed by Kraken.
This decision includes the definitive elimination of its VRTX token, which has lost 98% of its value since debuting in November 2023. The platform will take a snapshot on July 8 to determine who qualifies for an INK token airdrop, equivalent to 1% of Ink’s initial supply. All treasury funds and unvested VRTX tokens will be destroyed.
A New Chapter – Vertex Joins the Ink Foundation!
We're thrilled to announce that Vertex has entered an agreement to join @inkonchain, bringing our core infrastructure and team to the Ink ecosystem.
This marks a major milestone for both Vertex and Ink as we power the next… pic.twitter.com/nE3dNxSTlt
— Vertex 🏔 (@vertex_protocol) July 8, 2025
The agreement also involves Ink Foundation onboarding Vertex’s development team and technology, including its synchronous order book engine, perpetuals infrastructure, and money markets system. The operation aims to strengthen Ink’s strategy of building open, accessible onchain capital markets, with control over the full stack from base layer infrastructure to trading applications.
Vertex to Apply Anti-Sybil Filters for the Airdrop
Darius Tabai, Vertex’s CEO and co-founder, explained that the perpetual DEX market has grown extremely competitive, and the migration will allow them to reposition under better conditions. He stated that Ink offers a fully integrated structure, better suited to support Vertex’s growth. He also confirmed that anti-Sybil filters will be applied to the airdrop to prevent speculative practices and manipulation in the token distribution process.
Vertex originally launched its exchange in April 2023, managing up to $102 million in total value locked at its peak, though it currently holds just $55 million. The company raised $8.5 million in a 2022 seed round and received a strategic investment from Wintermute in 2023, with undisclosed financial terms.
Ink, meanwhile, went live in December 2024 as part of the Optimism Superchain ecosystem. Last month, it announced its own airdrop of INK tokens, although the schedule and distribution criteria are still pending.
With this integration, Vertex is leaving Arbitrum for good and repositioning itself within a Layer 2 network backed by institutional-grade infrastructure, seeking to regain ground in the onchain trading market.
