DeFi project Kujira partnered with three ecosystem partners to build THORChain’s app layer with a new token.
The decentralized finance (DeFi) network Kujira, along with several of its key ecosystem projects, has decided to merge into a single entity called the “Rujira Alliance.”
This new entity aims to create an application layer for THORChain’s cross-chain liquidity protocol.
According to THORChain founder John-Paul Thorbjornsen, also known as “JP THOR,” this app layer will not be just another small project but a DeFi “behemoth” that could potentially compete with Solana.
In a post on X on September 10, Thorbjornsen claimed the Rujira Alliance would feature a “combined treasury,” and he will serve as the project lead for the foreseeable future, allowing the Kujira team to focus on building the app layer.
Thorbjornsen explained to Cointelegraph that “RUJIRA will allow THORChain to debut a safe, well-managed, and well-executed DeFi app layer,” positioning THORChain to become a leading DeFi chain.
The app layer will include products for key DeFi sectors like order books, perpetual contracts, token launchpads, NFTs, lending, and money markets, all connected to eight different blockchains.
One of the key innovations of THORChain, according to Thorbjornsen, is that it has “solved” the issue of maximum extractable value (MEV) by “splitting income between consensus and liquidity.”
He claimed this results in a “much better” user experience without MEV on the platform.
Kujira merged with three of its key partners — Fusion, Unstake, and Wink — to form the Rujira Alliance.
The new app layer will be powered by a new token called RUJI.
However, the existing KUJI token and Kujira’s blockchain network will remain unaffected, as migrating to RUJI will be optional.
KUJI’s August Controversy
In August, Kujira faced controversy when its team disclosed liquidity problems due to “exploits, socially engineered attacks, and fallouts within the ecosystem,” causing KUJI’s price to drop 70% in just 24 hours.
Currently, KUJI is trading at $0.38, down 13% on the day and more than 91% from its all-time high of $5.56, which reached December 13 last year, according to CoinGecko.
Following the announcement of the new app layer, THORChain’s native RUNE token surged by 8%, climbing from $3.60 to $3.89. THORChain, a layer-1 blockchain and decentralized exchange (DEX) launched in June 2022, is built on Cosmos-SDK and Tendermint, focusing on enabling asset swaps across different layer-1 blockchains, which are generally siloed.
