Kraken offers to pay users for naming its new Ink mascot
Kraken launches naming contest for Ink Network's purple mascot
Crypto exchange Kraken is offering rewards to users who can come up with a name for the mascot representing its new Ethereum Layer 2 network, Ink.
The naming contest was announced via a post on Ink’s official page on X (formerly Twitter).
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“He’s gone too far. Too many events. Too much attention. And now he’s just in a bad mood. Because everyone keeps asking him one question he can’t answer. His name. Now he grows… Name him. We’ll pay you,” Kraken wrote, introducing a purple cartoon monster in a short video.
As reported by The Block, Kraken is hosting the contest using the blockchain-based voting platform JokeRace.
JokeRace, founded in 2022 by David Phelps and Siobhan McCafferty, enables contests on over 90 EVM-compatible blockchains. Users vote anonymously to decide outcomes for governance, hackathons, grants, and other community events.
Ink will have both a mascot and a token
JokeRace is known for its Sybil-resistant voting, where users pay per vote to avoid spam, and where smart contracts can execute on-chain actions—such as token transfers or DAO proposals—based on contest results.
According to Phelps, JokeRace has two types of contests:
- Submit-and-earn: Rewards for submitting the winning idea
- Vote-and-earn: Rewards for voters who help select the winner
This fits into what Phelps calls a “market of vibes,” where people get paid to curate internet content.
JokeRace is backed by over 100 angel investors. In July 2024, Maven 11 led a $3M funding round, aimed at expanding the platform’s marketing and operations.
Meanwhile, Ink is Kraken’s Ethereum Layer 2 network built using OP Stack. In 2025, the Ink Foundation plans to launch the INK token (1 billion max supply) to grow the ecosystem and provide liquidity. The mascot contest is part of the marketing rollout.
As we wrote, Kraken exchange sets sights on Q1 2026 IPO in crypto milestone
