Kujira team to build new THORChain app layer following ‘Rujira’ merge

Decentralized finance (DeFi) network Kujira and several of its major ecosystem projects have agreed to merge into a single entity called the “Rujira Alliance” to build a new application layer for cross-chain liquidity protocol THORChain.

The new application layer wouldn’t just be “another little project” but a new DeFi “behemoth” that could one-day rival Solana, THORChain founder John-Paul Thorbjornsen — who goes by the name “JP THOR” — claimed in a Sept. 10 X post. 

Thorbjornsen told Cointelegraph the new project would feature a “combined treasury” and that he would be the project lead for the foreseeable future, allowing the Kujira team to focus solely on building out the Rujira app layer.

“RUJIRA will allow THORChain to debut a safe, well-managed, and well-executed DeFi app layer to allow THORChain to become the leading DeFi chain.”

He said the new app layer will feature a product for each major DeFi vertical, including order books, perps, a token launchpad, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), lending, and money markets, which is “fully plumbed to eight chains already.”  

THORChain had “solved” the problem of maximum extractable value (MEV) by “splitting income between consensus and liquidity,” Thorbjornsen said, meaning there is no MEV on THORChain, which he claimed was a “much better” user experience.

Kujira merged with three of its “key ecosystem” partners — Fusion, Unstake, and Wink — to create the alliance, with the new app layer powered by a new token called RUJI.

The merge will not affect the functionality of Kujira’s existing KUJI token nor the project’s native blockchain network, as merging into RUJI will be entirely voluntary.

KUJI’s August controversy

Kujira was marred by controversy on Aug. 2 when its founding team revealed it faced a series of liquidity issues stemming from “exploits, socially engineered attacks, and fallouts within the ecosystem.”

At the time, its native KUJI token plummeted 70% in 24 hours. It’s now trading for $0.38, down 13% on the day. According to CoinGecko data, KUJI has fallen over 91% from its all-time high of $5.56, which it notched on Dec. 13 last year. 

Related: THORChain hits $10B monthly volume as Bitcoin maxis debate safety

THORChain’s native RUNE (RUNE) token rallied as much as 8% following the announcement of the new app layer, jumping from $3.60 to $3.89.

THORChain is a layer-1 blockchain and decentralized exchange (DEX) focused on facilitating asset swaps across layer-1 blockchains that are otherwise generally siloed. It launched in June 2022 and was constructed on Cosmos-SDK and Tendermint.

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