[Crypto projects](https://revain.org/projects/) › Injective

# Injective (INJ): how it works, supply and reviews

## In short

- **Type**: Layer-1 blockchain for finance with a fully on-chain order book exchange module
- **Circulation**: Injective states that all INJ is in circulation, with no future unlocks or vesting
- **Risks and caveats**: New INJ is minted as block rewards, so net supply depends on how much is burned through the buyback.
- **Checked**: 31 October 2026

## Key facts

- **Ticker**: INJ
- **Official site**: [injective.com](https://injective.com/)

Key facts checked on 31 October 2026 against official sources.

## What is Injective

Injective is a layer-1 blockchain built for financial applications, with a native on-chain order book, EVM and WebAssembly smart contracts and cross-chain links to IBC networks and Ethereum. INJ is its native token for fees, staking and governance.

## Network and consensus

| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Layer-1 blockchain for finance with a fully on-chain order book exchange module |
| Consensus | Proof of stake on a custom Tendermint (CometBFT) implementation; Cosmos SDK modules |
| Block time | About 650 ms per block, with instant finality (figures as of April 2026) |
| Smart contracts | Yes: EVM (Solidity) and WebAssembly (CosmWasm, Rust) in one network |
| Interoperability | Connected to 110+ IBC networks and Ethereum |
| Launched | Canonical mainnet on 8 November 2021 (Proposal #65), after the Canary Chain phase |

## Supply and issuance

| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Circulation | Injective states that all INJ is in circulation, with no future unlocks or vesting |
| Staking rewards | Validators are rewarded with newly minted INJ (block rewards) plus part of transaction fees |
| Burn | A monthly Community Buyback burns the INJ committed by participants; it replaced the weekly Burn Auction |
| Supply policy | INJ 3.0 (IIP-392, April 2024) tightened the supply schedule, tied to the share of INJ staked |

## What INJ is used for

- Paying all transaction fees (gas) on Injective
- Staking with validators to secure the network
- Proposing and voting in on-chain governance
- Margin and collateral in derivatives markets

## Who develops and governs Injective

- **Governance**: On-chain, token-weighted voting by staked INJ (1 INJ = 1 vote)
- **Proposals**: A proposal needs a 10 INJ deposit to submit and 100 INJ in total to reach voting
- **Smart contract uploads**: Permissioned: stakers must vote to allow a contract on mainnet
- **Foundation**: Injective Foundation publishes injective.com
- **Developer**: Injective Labs maintains the documentation and the GitHub organisation

## History

| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 29 April 2020 | Injective is introduced as a decentralized derivatives exchange protocol built on Tendermint. |
| 8 November 2021 | The Injective Canonical Chain mainnet goes live, enabling unrestricted transfers and trading. |
| 8 November 2021 | Weekly buy-back-and-burn of 60% of protocol fees is introduced. |
| 23 April 2024 | INJ 3.0 tokenomics upgrade is approved through IIP-392. |
| 21 August 2024 | Performance upgrades bring average block time to about 0.65 seconds. |

## Security and audits

- Staked INJ, including delegated INJ, can be slashed if a validator acts maliciously or fails its duties.
- Exchange matching uses frequent batch auctions, which Injective describes as resistant to front-running (MEV).

## Security incidents

| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 31 August 2026 | Exploit: Injective said an exploit affected a small number of ecosystem applications operating binary options markets and that it was isolated to those applications, not the Injective blockchain, protocol, native assets or consensus; contributors coordinated an accelerated network upgrade (release v1.20.3-safeharbor.1, published 31 August 2026) that took longer than expected, some validators were temporarily jailed and some exchanges temporarily disabled deposits and withdrawals. Injective did not state an amount; it called reports of a chain exploit or halt inaccurate. Funds returned: Not stated by Injective; it said no staked INJ were lost or at risk. | [x.com](https://x.com/injective/status/2094784707623788664) |

Further incidents are reported by third parties (press, incident databases) but are not confirmed in the company’s own channels, so they are not listed here.

## Risks and caveats

- New INJ is minted as block rewards, so net supply depends on how much is burned through the buyback.
- Undelegating staked INJ takes 21 days, and delegated INJ can be slashed together with its validator.
- Performance figures are self-reported and may change with market movements and usage.

## Official links

- Website: [injective.com](https://injective.com/)
- Docs: [docs.injective.network](https://docs.injective.network/)
- Source code: [github.com/InjectiveLabs](https://github.com/InjectiveLabs)
- Token page: [injective.com/inj](https://injective.com/inj)
- Blog: [injective.com/blog](https://injective.com/blog)

## Questions and answers

**What is Injective?**

Injective is a proof-of-stake layer-1 blockchain for finance with an on-chain order book, EVM and WebAssembly contracts and IBC and Ethereum connectivity.

**What is INJ used for?**

INJ pays all transaction fees, is staked to secure the network, is used to vote on governance proposals and can serve as derivatives collateral.

**What is the supply of INJ?**

Injective's public LCD endpoint reported a total supply of about 123.55 million INJ on 31 October 2026; staking rewards mint INJ and the monthly buyback burns it.

**When did Injective mainnet launch?**

The Injective Canonical Chain mainnet went live on 8 November 2021 after governance Proposal #65.

**How long does unstaking INJ take?**

Undelegating INJ from a validator takes 21 days.

## Sources

- [Injective Docs — About](https://docs.injective.network/about)
- [Injective Docs — INJ coin](https://docs.injective.network/defi/tokens/inj-coin)
- [Injective Docs — Staking](https://docs.injective.network/defi/staking)
- [Injective Docs — Governance](https://docs.injective.network/defi/governance)
- [Injective Docs — Community Buyback](https://docs.injective.network/defi/community-buyback)
- [Injective Docs — Public endpoints](https://docs.injective.network/infra/public-endpoints)
- [Injective — INJ token](https://injective.com/inj)
- [Injective — MultiVM](https://injective.com/multivm)
- [Injective blog — Canonical Chain mainnet release](https://injective.com/blog/injective-canonical-chain-mainnet-release)
- [Injective blog — INJ 3.0](https://injective.com/blog/inj-3-0-release)
- [Injective blog — Introducing Injective](https://injective.com/blog/introducing-injective-protocol-the-new-dawn-for-decentralized-finance)
- [Injective blog — A new era of Injective: limitless scale](https://injective.com/blog/a-new-era-of-injective-limitless-scale)
- [Injective LCD — INJ total supply](https://sentry.lcd.injective.network/cosmos/bank/v1beta1/supply/by_denom?denom=inj)

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Page updated: 2026-10-31

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Source: https://revain.org/projects/injective/