VRTX price slides 40% as Vertex Protocol phases out native token, abandons Arbitrum

The cryptocurrency market remained bullish on Tuesday, with Bitcoin above $108,000 after surging 1.33% in the last 24 hours.

While most altcoins targeted rebounds, Vertex Protocol’s native coin exhibited massive bearishness, driven by the ongoing ecosystem developments.

The hybrid decentralized exchange has confirmed that it will shut down its platform on Arbitrum and move to Kraken-backed L2 Ink.

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A New Chapter – Vertex Joins the Ink Foundation!

We’re thrilled to announce that Vertex has entered an agreement to join @inkonchain, bringing our core infrastructure and team to the Ink ecosystem.

This marks a major milestone for both Vertex and Ink as we power the next

7:39 pm · 8 Jul 2025

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Meanwhile, this is more than a migration to another blockchain.

The protocol is hitting the reset button. That includes retiring native VRTX, sunsetting existing products, and relaunching with an advanced infrastructure.

While the overhaul could be a strategic move for long-term growth, native token VRTX saw a massive dip following the announcement.

VRTX hovers at $0.006573 after a substantial 41% dip minutes after Vertex Protocol’s announcement.

Vertex migrates from Arbitrum to Ink

Vertex Protocol launched on Arbitrum in 2023, aiming to be a go-to platform for money markets and perpetual trading.

However, the project has failed to gain grounds in the highly competitive DeFi sector.

That’s despite massive support from investors during its initial fundraising.

Arbitrum has also struggled to keep pace, with 100% of holders of its native ARB experiencing losses at one time.

Now, Vertex Protocol is abandoning Arbitrum. It is turning to the new Ink, a new Kraken-incubated L2 network.

The decision follows a strategic acquisition, which will see the Ink Foundation taking over Vertex’s technology, including lending systems, core trading functionalities, and an order book engine.

Ink Foundation commented:

As part of the transition, Vertex will sunset its current EVM deployments. A new version of the DEX will launch exclusively on the Ink Layer-2, purpose-built for speed, capital efficiency, and on-chain composability. This brings Vertex’s synchronous order book engine and perpetual tech directly into Ink’s DeFi stack.

However, Ink Foundation will absorb Vertex’s engineering team.

The decision to move from Arbitrum aims to bolster the protocol’s growth and survival.

Vertex CEO Darius Tabai highlighted that increased competition in the perp sector prompted the migration.

He believes Ink’s goal of its layer-2 encompassing a complete vertical integration of multiple applications aligns with Vertex’s growth ambitions.

Vertex phases out VRTX token

The most striking change in this migration is retiring the native VRTX.

Meanwhile, the project will compensate holders with INK airdrop.

It will determine eligibility today, July 8, after taking a snapshot.

The altcoin has struggled, losing around 98% since its November 2023 debut.

Its market cap has plummeted from early 2024 levels of $77 million to press time’s $3.47 million.

VRTX trades at 0.006573 after losing 41% on its daily price chart.

Chart by CoinamrketcapIts trading volume has increased by nearly 24%, possibly reflecting speculative undertakings as traders capitalize on the prevailing volatility.

VRTX exhibits a weak structure, suggesting more price dips in the coming sessions.

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