January 9, 2026. Strike Finance, the leading lending protocol on Cardano, has released its 2026 roadmap, building on a strong 2025 that saw over 1 billion ADA in volume and more than 1 million ADA distributed to stakers. The team forecasts 6x growth this year, driven by the upcoming Strike V2 protocol upgrade in Q1, a native mobile app for mass adoption, and diversification into equities, spot trading, real world assets (RWAs), fiat on/off ramps, and cross chain lending.
High Signal Summary For A Quick Glance
- Strike has released its 2026 roadmap, outlining aggressive expansion across products and platforms.
- In 2025, the protocol processed over 1B ADA in volume and paid more than 1M ADA to strike holders.
- Early 2026 metrics suggest the platform is on pace to deliver roughly 6× last year’s volume and payouts.
- Key priorities include the launch of Strike V2 this quarter and a native mobile app designed for global scale.
- Strike holders benefiting from increased protocol activity and payout growth.
- Retail and institutional users seeking options-style yield products on Cardano.
- Mobile-first users targeted by the upcoming native app rollout.
- DeFi participants interested in equities, RWAs, spot trading, and cross-chain lending.
From Cardano Money Market To Full Stack DeFi Platform
Strike launched in 2023 as an overcollateralized lending protocol focused on ADA native assets, gaining momentum through Cardano’s DeFi rebound and a breakout 2025 supported by audits, liquidity incentives, and ecosystem integrations.
Its 2026 roadmap advances this trajectory with a Q1 Strike V2 upgrade to improve efficiency, risk controls, and scalability, alongside a native mobile app. Planned expansion into spot trading, equities, RWAs, fiat rails, and cross-chain lending positions Strike as a multi asset DeFi hub rather than a single product protocol.
Strike outlines 2026 roadmap and expansion plans
An X post from @strikeperps announces the 2026 roadmap for Strike, an on chain perpetual futures protocol on Cardano offering up to 40x leverage, highlighting over 1 billion ADA in 2025 trading volume and more than 1 million ADA paid to STRIKE token holders, with early 2026 performance tracking significantly higher, while the roadmap focuses on launching Strike V2 this quarter, releasing a native mobile app, and expanding into spot trading, real world assets, equities, fiat on and off ramps, and cross chain lending.
Key milestones related to this development
Strike V1 launches on Cardano
Strike goes live as Cardano’s first on-chain perpetual futures platform, enabling ADA/USD leveraged trading up to 10x using the GMX model.
Staking and security upgrades
Protocol enhancements roll out, including improved staking rewards and MPC wallets to strengthen user security.
Strong protocol traction achieved
Strike exceeds 1B ADA in trading volume, pays over 1M ADA to $STRIKE holders, distributes nearly 5M ADA to liquidity providers, and ranks among the top 20 DeFi protocols by revenue.
Strike V2 and mobile app expansion
Mainnet V2 begins rollout alongside a native mobile application, with early 2026 metrics tracking toward a sixfold increase over 2025 performance.
Spot trading and real-world assets
Planned launch of spot markets, real-world asset exposure, and equities and stocks integration.
Fiat access and vault products
Introduction of fiat on and off ramps, vaults, and broader trading tools aimed at expanding global accessibility.
Cross-chain lending rollout
Cross-chain lending capabilities planned to extend liquidity and capital efficiency beyond Cardano.
Comparison with competing perp DEX roadmap updates
Strike operates alongside established perpetuals platforms such as GMX, dYdX, Perpetual Protocol, and Synthetix, all of which have published mature multi year roadmaps focused on scaling, layer two expansion, and bridges to real world and traditional finance, while sector wide perpetual DEX volumes reached roughly $12 trillion in 2025 driven by leaders such as Hyperliquid and dYdX, positioning Strike’s 2026 roadmap alongside recent competitive updates including Synthetix’s renewed Ethereum perps push in late 2025 and GMX’s V2 enhancements.
Relative positioning against past updates or peers
What to watch next for Strike Perps
Q1 2026 focuses on Mainnet V2 and a native mobile app to scale beyond 2025’s 1B ADA volume and 1M ADA payouts. The roadmap then moves into spot, RWAs, fiat ramps, and cross-chain lending across the year, signaling rapid product expansion.
Momentum appears strong, but execution risk remains, particularly around fiat integrations and rising DEX competition, with upside tied to partnerships and broader Cardano ecosystem growth.
