On July 5, 2025, crypto exchange Kraken invited its community to name the new mascot for its Ethereum Layer 2 network, Ink. The firm made the call on X(Twitter) and said it will reward anyone who picks the winning name. The contest runs on Jokerace, a blockchain contests platform that Kraken tapped to run the event.
Mascot Contest Launch
In a playful X(Twitter) post, Kraken wrote that the purple, spiky monster has seen “too many events” and now “he’s just down bad because everyone keeps asking the one question he can’t answer. his name. Now, he’s spiralling… you name him.”
The exchange said the winner would earn a crypto prize. By turning to an onchain contest, Kraken hopes to spark excitement around Ink before its network goes live.
About JokeRace
JokeRace is a no-code, onchain contest platform that launched in 2022. It was founded by David Phelps and Siobhán McCaffery. The site supports contests on more than 90 EVM-compatible blockchains.
Users can run vote-based contests for everything from hackathon awards to grant funding. Kraken chose JokeRace to power both “enter and earn” and “vote and earn” formats, which let participants earn tokens by submitting a winning entry or by voting on winners.
Inside Ink Layer 2
Ink is Kraken’s in-house Ethereum scaling solution built with the OP Stack. The team behind the network recently set up the Ink Foundation.
The foundation plans to issue INK tokens with a total supply capped at 1,000,000,000. By 2025, Kraken aims to use these tokens to boost liquidity and grow the Ink ecosystem. The move shows the company’s drive to build more than just a trading platform.
Incentives to Participate
Phelps told The Block that the key draw is the “persuasion market” or “vibe market,” where people earn by curating and voting. In enter and earn contests, the best entries get paid. In Vote and earn, users receive rewards for picking the right winners.
This model gives the whole community a stake in the outcome. Kraken hopes the dual contests will bring fresh users into Ink’s orbit and help choose a mascot that truly represents the chain’s fun side.
xStocks and Regulatory Win
While it builds Ink, Kraken is also expanding in other areas. The exchange recently launched xStocks, a platform for trading tokenized versions of 60 major US stocks and ETFs.
This new service lets crypto users gain exposure to traditional assets without leaving the blockchain.
At the same time, Kraken secured a major license from the Central Bank of Ireland under the EU’s MiCA rules. This approval makes Kraken the first global crypto platform to gain this regulatory nod in Ireland.
What Comes Next?
Kraken will run the mascot contest for several weeks. Entrants must connect their wallets to JokeRace and follow the simple steps to submit names or vote.
The exchange will announce the winner on its social channels. Meanwhile, development on Ink continues, with testnet launches and security audits on the calendar.
Also Read: Kraken Detects North Korean Hacker’s Deceptive Job Application in Failed Crypto Hack Attempt