Katana Sets Nov. 17 avKAT Fee Routing; vKAT Exit Undated

Katana will begin routing portions of network fees to avKAT on Nov. 17 and plans to discontinue vKAT and its voting mechanism, according to the project’s tokenomics update, which gives no effective date for the token change.

What changes on Nov. 17?

The scheduled allocation covers fees from Katana Swap, Katana Perps, Vault Bridge and Katana’s sequencer. Katana did not specify the percentage of each fee pool or the formula used to calculate the avKAT allocation.

Starting that day, portions of the four fee streams will flow to avKAT. The announcement treats that launch as fixed, separate from the retirement of vKAT and the planned buyback program.

That sequencing matters operationally. Katana has tied the first implementation to a calendar date while leaving two other tokenomics actions without deadlines. The fee switch can start without requiring a same-day vKAT shutdown or buyback launch.

Which businesses feed the fee pool?

Katana described three acquisitions as completed: the Sushi deployment on Katana, now Katana Swap; IDEX, now Katana Perps; and Vault Bridge, which provides native yield generation. Those three operations and the sequencer are the named sources for the Nov. 17 allocations.

The completed transactions broaden the products covered by the fee update. Katana Swap and Katana Perps account for the swap and perpetonics businesses, while Vault Bridge adds the native-yield product. The sequencer is the fourth named fee source. Katana did not publish individual contribution figures.

What happens to vKAT?

Katana plans to discontinue vKAT and its voting mechanism but has not set an effective date. Its update states: “No effective date was given for discontinuing vKAT.” It also states: “The fee-routing date is set; the timing for the vKAT change and buybacks is not.”

The separation creates an execution window without requiring the two changes to occur together. Katana can activate the avKAT fee flow on Nov. 17 while vKAT voting remains available until the project sets a retirement date. The announcement does not link either action to the fee-routing deadline.

How do staking and yield change?

KAT holders can stake KAT into avKAT to participate in yield. Katana also plans to shorten the unstaking cooldown from 45 days to seven days. The revised schedule gives participants a much shorter stated wait to exit, while avKAT serves as the destination for both staking activity and network-fee receipts.

The update therefore connects two functions for avKAT: access to staking yield and a share of fees from four named sources. It does not make Nov. 17 a deadline for every element of the package, because the vKAT shutdown and programmed buybacks remain undated.

What remains undecided?

Katana plans programmed buybacks later but has set no start date. The announcement also gives no effective date for discontinuing vKAT. Only the Nov. 17 fee routing has a firm launch date; the voting shutdown and buyback activation remain open-ended.

For market participants, the package provides one dated implementation and two unscheduled changes. Katana has not disclosed fee percentages, a vKAT retirement timetable or a buyback launch schedule. The next hard checkpoint is Nov. 17, when Katana must begin the specified fee allocations, while the broader tokenomics reset proceeds in stages.