What Kadena does

Kadena was a U.S.-based Layer 1 blockchain company headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, founded in 2016 (per firmographics; the corporate history timeline references 2020) and operating as Kadena LLC. It developed Chainweb, a proprietary braided, parallel-chain Proof-of-Work architecture intended to deliver higher throughput and lower transaction costs than single-chain PoW networks, and layered Chainweb EVM on top to support Ethereum-compatible smart contracts and dApps. The Kinesis Bridge provided cross-chain interoperability and was used to migrate tokenized assets (e.g., the VATRENI fan token) from external EVM networks such as Polygon onto Kadena. The native KDA token powered network operations and was traded on retail-facing cryptocurrency exchanges including Bybit and OKX.

Kadena's go-to-market was B2B infrastructure-led, targeting two principal verticals: sports organizations (exemplified by a multi-year partnership with the Croatian Football Federation for digital fan engagement through 2028) and AI/Web3 projects (FurGPT, Imagen Network) seeking scalable, low-cost chain infrastructure. Customer concentration was thin, with HNS as the only publicly named enterprise customer and a small set of Web3 integration partners. Pricing was not publicly disclosed, and the corporate entity showed no documented revenue, implying a token- and ecosystem-value capture model rather than a recurring SaaS revenue model.

Kadena LLC ceased all business operations on October 21, 2025, citing challenging market conditions. The KDA token dropped over 60% in response, and Bybit and OKX announced delistings. Despite the corporate shutdown, the underlying PoW blockchain continued to run via independent miners and protocol maintainers, and a Community Takeover Team — backed by InFlux Technologies and Web3 executive Daniel Keller — was announced to build a successor version of the protocol, including a reported $25 million investment commitment from FurGPT.

Name

Kadena

Legal name

Kadena LLC

Website

https://kadena.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kadena was a U.S.-based Layer 1 blockchain company (Brooklyn, NY) that built the proprietary Chainweb multi-chain Proof-of-Work architecture and Chainweb EVM, serving sports organizations (e.g., Croatian Football Federation) and Web3/AI projects before ceasing operations in October 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Layer 1 Blockchain Infrastructure

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Cross-Chain Developer Tooling (messaging SDKs, relayers, interoperability APIs) (FSAPABAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Interoperability & Cross-Chain Infrastructure (Bridges, Messaging, Atomic Swaps) (FSAGAMAI)

Keywords

• Layer 1 blockchain
• Proof of work
• Smart contracts
• Cross-chain bridge
• EVM compatibility

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Kadena operates a Layer 1 blockchain platform powered by a proprietary multi-chain Proof-of-Work architecture called Chainweb. Its core products are Chainweb EVM, which provides Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility for smart contracts and dApps, and the Kinesis Bridge, a cross-chain interoperability solution for migrating tokens between EVM-compatible networks. The native KDA token powers network operations, and Kadena targeted enterprise use cases such as sports fan engagement and decentralized AI infrastructure.

Product overview

Kadena is a U.S.-based Layer 1 blockchain platform that ceased business operations on October 21, 2025, though its proof-of-work blockchain continues to run independently. The core product is Chainweb EVM, a multi-chain architecture that provides high-throughput, scalable blockchain operations with Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility. Supporting this ecosystem is the Kinesis Bridge, Kadena's cross-chain interoperability technology that enables token migrations from external EVM-compatible networks like Polygon. The native token KDA powers the network, which continues operating through independent miners and community governance following the company's shutdown.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Chainweb EVM
• Kinesis Bridge Cross-chain bridging technology that enables interoperability between Kadena's blockchain and external EVM-compatible networks (e.g., Polygon), facilitating token migrations and cross-chain asset transfers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Lower transaction costs compared to single-chain PoW networks
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Croatian Football Federation (HNS)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 February 2025U.S.-based blockchain company Kadena partnered with the Croatian Football Federation to provide digital fan engagement experiences for Croatian national team fans through 2028, covering major tournaments including the 2026 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2028. The collaboration included migration of the VATRENI fan token from Polygon to Kadena via the Kinesis Bridge, marking one of the first EVM-based projects to transition to Kadena's ecosystem.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cosmos: Cosmos is an ecosystem of interoperable, app-specific blockchains built with the Tendermint/Cosmos SDK. Its hub-and-zone model of parallel chains with cross-chain messaging is a conceptual parallel to Kadena's braided Chainweb design.
• Internet Computer (DFINITY): Internet Computer is a Layer 1 aiming to host fully on-chain applications at scale. Like Kadena, it pursues throughput via novel architectural choices and targets enterprise and Web3 workloads.
• Polkadot: Polkadot provides a multi-chain, interoperable Layer 1 architecture with parachains. Like Kadena's Chainweb, its core thesis is parallel-chain scalability with cross-chain interoperability, making it a direct architectural peer.
• Fantom: Fantom is an EVM-compatible, high-throughput Layer 1 using a DAG-based consensus. It competes directly with Kadena in the low-cost, EVM-friendly smart contract platform category.
• NEAR Protocol: NEAR Protocol is a sharded Layer 1 blockchain emphasizing horizontal scaling and low fees. Like Kadena, it targets developers migrating from Ethereum and offers EVM-style compatibility.
• Solana: Solana is a high-throughput Layer 1 blockchain competing for the same developer and application mindshare as Kadena. Both target scalable, low-cost smart contract execution, though Solana uses a single-chain PoS design rather than Kadena's multi-chain PoW approach.
• Polygon: Polygon is an EVM-compatible scaling platform and was the source chain for the VATRENI fan token that migrated to Kadena via Kinesis Bridge. It competes directly for EVM dApps and sports/Web3 engagement workloads.
• Avalanche: Avalanche is a multi-chain Layer 1 platform whose subnet architecture pursues horizontal scaling conceptually similar to Kadena's Chainweb. Both compete in the EVM-compatible, high-throughput smart contract platform category.

Others

• Chainlink: Chainlink provides oracle and cross-chain interoperability services (CCIP) that are functionally adjacent to Kadena's Kinesis Bridge. Both enable interoperability between blockchain networks, though Chainlink is infrastructure-agnostic while Kadena's bridge is protocol-native.

Broad incumbents

• Algorand: Algorand is an established Layer 1 with enterprise focus and lower-cost smart contracts. It shares with Kadena a positioning around enterprise-grade throughput and institutional use cases such as tokenized assets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kadena_io
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kadena-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors17 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kadena