Matthew Fisher has been appointed CEO as Katana deepens its vertically integrated trading group. Acquire.Fi served as the exclusive sell-side M&A advisor and deal presenter to IDEX.
NEW YORK, March 23, 2026 – Katana has completed the acquisition of IDEX, a veteran cross-chain trading infrastructure team, and launched Katana Perps, the native perpetual futures platform, now live at perps.katana.network. Acquire.Fi, a Web3-based M&A advisory firm, served as IDEX’s exclusive sell-side advisor and original deal provider.
The acquisition represents an important step in Katana’s strategy to own the core economic drivers of its chain rather than relying on third-party applications for trading volume. Katana Perps will be integrated directly into the Katana app along with placement and routing, making the derivatives a native part of the platform rather than a separate product built on top of it.
Matthew Fisher has been appointed CEO of Katana to lead this next phase. Fisher has a background in institutional business development, digital asset policy, and decentralized finance infrastructure, with previous roles at Diem, Polygon Labs, and Katana itself.
IDEX has nearly a decade of experience building cross-chain trading infrastructure. The team’s matching engine delivers CEX-level on-chain performance, including low-latency execution, advanced order types, chart trading with take profit and stop loss functionality, and mature API support for professional integrations.
The timing of the launch reflects broader shifts in market structure. Cryptocurrency trading activity increasingly occurs outside traditional business hours, and demand for high-performance, always-on derivatives venues continues to grow globally. Katana Perps is designed to serve this market.
Katana Perps is positioned to serve professional and institutional traders, market makers, and native cryptocurrency users who need a performance-focused place. Over time, vKAT voters will be able to direct incentives toward and earn fees from people-relevant markets, integrating people revenue into the same flywheel that supports monitoring, lending, and triggering on-chain activity.
Katana’s broader DeFi stack now covers four core verticals: Sushi for spot lending, Morpho for lending, Kensei for token launches, and Katana Perps for derivatives. The KAT and vKAT token model serves as the coordination layer across the four.
Katana Perps launched with the first season of a points program designed to reward organic trading, sustainable engagement, cash contributions and referrals. This product is not available to persons residing in the United States. Nothing in this release constitutes an offer or solicitation to US persons.
Acquire.Fi originated the deal and served as exclusive sell-side advisor to IDEX, guiding the process from initial introduction through final closing.
About katana
katana It is a native DeFi chain built on a tightly integrated trading stack. Its primary applications include spot contracts, lending, and now perpetual futures. The chain’s economic model focuses on KAT and vKAT as mechanisms for coordinating and distributing fees across all localities.
About IDEX/Katana Purps
IDEX has been building cross-chain trading infrastructure for nearly a decade. As Katana Perps, the team now serves as the native derivatives venue for the Katana chain and integrated into the Katana app, providing an on-chain CEX-like experience with deep API support and a roadmap towards cutting-edge market structure tools.
About AQUIRE.FI
Get.Fi is a Web3-based M&A advisory firm specializing in buy-side and sell-side mandates across DeFi infrastructure, exchanges, fintech and digital asset companies. The company works at the intersection of deal origination, institutional buyer relationships, and execution, with more than 350 deals running through its pipeline. Notable credentials include advisory on the Kraken/Vertex perps DEX acquisition and ongoing mandates across regulated entities and high-growth crypto companies globally.
Media communication
(Jan Strandberg)
(CEO), Acquire.Fi
