Injective (INJ) is a Layer-1 blockchain purpose-built for decentralized finance (DeFi), offering a combination of high throughput, rapid finality, and minimal fees — a foundation well suited for modern Web3 finance.
Founded in 2018 by Injective Labs (co-founded by Eric Chen and Albert Chon), Injective leverages the Cosmos SDK and a BFT consensus engine (Tendermint) to deliver a blockchain that blends scalability with speed.
One of Injective’s standout technical characteristics is its block time: after recent upgrades, the blockchain produces blocks approximately every 0.65 seconds, giving near-instant transaction finality. Under ideal conditions, the network can handle tens of thousands of transactions per second (TPS) — a strong scalability claim that supports high-frequency trading and DeFi applications.
Injective is more than just a fast chain — it also offers a rich suite of finance-oriented infrastructure. At its core is a fully on-chain order book, enabling decentralized exchanges (DEXs), derivatives trading, prediction markets, and other financial instruments, all built in a trustless, censorship-resistant manner. This is complemented by strong cross-chain interoperability: Injective supports bridging with other blockchains (via IBC and “Peggy”-style bridges), allowing assets from networks like Ethereum, Cosmos, and others to flow into its ecosystem.
More recently (2025), Injective rolled out native EVM support (known as inEVM), enabling Ethereum-compatible smart contracts on its high-performance Cosmos-based chain. This Multi-VM architecture combines WebAssembly and EVM environments — thereby welcoming both WASM-native and Ethereum tooling developers — while preserving Injective’s low fees and fast finality.
All in all, Injective stands out as a blockchain designed from the ground up for finance — blending performance, interoperability, and modular architecture so developers can build complex DeFi systems capable of matching or even surpassing centralized infrastructure.
