What is Injective? How It Works & Where to Use It

Overview

Injective at a glance.

Injective launched its mainnet in 2021 as a Layer 1 built with the Cosmos SDK and Tendermint consensus, focused specifically on financial applications. It provides modules for an on-chain order book and derivatives, so trading venues can be built without writing matching logic from scratch.

Total value locked (DeFi)

$12.7M

Value locked in DeFi protocols on Injective. Updated Jun 2, 2026. Source: DefiLlama.

Native token

INJ

Used for fees and securing the network. See the live INJ price.

How it works

How Injective works.

Validators stake INJ and take part in Tendermint Byzantine Fault Tolerant consensus, which finalizes blocks in under a second. Because Injective is built with the Cosmos SDK, it supports the Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol, letting assets and data move between Injective and other IBC-connected chains.

Consensus: Proof of Stake with Tendermint BFT

Validators stake INJ and take part in Tendermint Byzantine Fault Tolerant consensus, which finalizes blocks in under a second. Because Injective is built with the Cosmos SDK, it supports the Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol, letting assets and data move between Injective and other IBC-connected chains.

On-chain order book

Injective provides a central limit order book at the protocol level, so exchanges and derivatives markets share common matching infrastructure rather than each building their own.

Built for finance

The chain ships with modules for spot and derivatives trading, oracles, and auctions, aimed at making financial applications quicker to build.

IBC interoperability

As a Cosmos SDK chain, Injective connects to the wider Cosmos ecosystem through IBC, allowing cross-chain asset transfers.

INJ token

INJ is used for staking, fees, and governance. A portion of protocol fees is used in a recurring burn auction that removes INJ from supply.

Ecosystem & usage

What Injective is used for.

Injective is used mainly for trading and other financial applications, including spot and derivatives exchanges, prediction markets, and structured products built on its shared order-book modules.

DefiLlama

Derivatives and perpetuals

Markets for perpetual futures and other derivatives are built directly on Injective's order-book modules.

Spot exchanges

Decentralized spot trading venues share the chain's native matching infrastructure.

Cross-chain assets

IBC lets users bring assets from other Cosmos chains and trade them on Injective.

Staking and governance

INJ holders stake to secure the network and vote on protocol changes.

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In the Zypto App

Hold, swap and spend INJ.

Injective is integrated in the Zypto App. Hold INJ in self-custody, swap it to any supported asset, and use it across Zypto’s features.

Hold INJ in Zypto How to buy INJ

Be the reason Injective ships next.

Injective isn’t in the Zypto App yet. Post the request to your followers, chains with the most demand get prioritised.

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FAQ

Common questions.

What is Injective?

Injective is a Layer 1 blockchain built with the Cosmos SDK and Tendermint consensus, focused on financial applications. It provides an on-chain order book and derivatives modules and launched in 2021.

How does Injective connect to other chains?

Injective supports the Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol, so it can transfer assets and data with other Cosmos SDK chains. Bridges also connect it to networks like Ethereum.

What is the INJ burn auction?

A share of fees generated by applications on Injective is collected and used in a recurring auction where participants bid INJ. The winning bid amount of INJ is burned, reducing supply over time.

What is INJ used for?

INJ is the native token, used for staking, paying fees, and governance. It is also central to the burn auction mechanism.

Can I hold INJ in the Zypto App?

Not yet. INJ isn't in the Zypto App at the moment. You can hold it in any self-custodial wallet, and you can ask us to add Injective using the "Request Injective" button above.

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