What is KYO Finance (KYO)

I. Project Introduction

1. What Is Kyo Finance (KYO)?

Kyo Finance is the native veDEX (vote-escrowed decentralized exchange and liquidity hub with pools and governance) deployed on the Soneium network. Its mission is to simplify complex DeFi interactions into an intuitive, Web2-like experience through features such as batch trading, real-time governance voting, and a user-friendly interface. It supports core decentralized finance functions, including asset exchange, liquidity provision, rewards distribution, and cross-chain connectivity via its solver and cross-chain relayer. Kyo Finance aims to serve as the unified, integrated liquidity layer for the Soneium network and the broader multi-chain ecosystem.

2. How Does Kyo Finance Work?

veDEX + veKYO Architecture: Users lock the native $KYO token to receive $veKYO, which is used for trading, governance, and yield distribution. Notably, $veKYO is an ERC-20 token rather than the traditional veNFT, enabling easier trading and greater composability. Holding $veKYO grants participation in governance voting, revenue distribution, and liquidity rewards.

Batch Transactions & One-Click Operation: The protocol enables users to bundle multiple actions—such as swapping, providing liquidity, and claiming rewards—into a single batch transaction, reducing both gas costs and operational complexity.

Smart Liquidity Pools & Routing: Kyo Finance supports highly configurable pools compatible with ERC-20, ERC-721, and ERC-1155 assets, and includes a built-in smart router and split-router that automatically selects optimal liquidity paths for users.

Extra Yield Mechanism: When providing cross-chain or bridging services via the solver or relayer, Kyo Finance returns a portion of revenue that is typically lost or hidden back to liquidity providers (LPs). This offers LPs additional returns and helps mitigate impermanent loss.

3. Who Founded Kyo Finance?

Project Background: Kyo Finance was born out of the Soneium ecosystem and received key support through the Soneium Spark incubation initiative.

Funding Status: In November 2025, Kyo Finance successfully closed its Series A funding round, raising $5 million at a $100 million valuation. The round was led by prominent investors, including Castrum Capital, BuzzBridge Capital, and TBV.

Team Structure: The Kyo Finance team is officially described as a decentralized group composed of core developers, researchers, operations specialists, and community contributors. Its governance framework relies heavily on multisig (multiple-signature) security, thorough contract auditing, and robust security design principles to support a non-custodial, highly transparent, and compliant DeFi platform.

4. Kyo Finance Tokenomics

Token Name: KYO / veKYO

Token Category: KYO serves as the core utility and reward token, while veKYO functions as the locked, liquid governance token.

Token Function: KYO is used to reward liquidity providers. Users can convert KYO into veKYO, which grants participation in governance voting, revenue distribution, and the management and reward mechanisms of liquidity pools.

Token Distribution (specific release schedule not yet disclosed): airdrop 3%; liquidity management 7%; ecosystem 10%; team (ve) 15%; team 5%; partners 20%; issuance 40%.

5. Timeline of Key Milestones

January 14, 2025: Kyo Finance officially launched alongside the Soneium Mainnet, serving as its flagship DeFi protocol.

Mid-to-late 2025: Kyo Finance quickly became a leading liquidity hub on Soneium, reaching a peak TVL of more than $55 million and generating substantial trading activity, with hundreds of millions in volume and millions of swaps.

November 7-8, 2025: The team announced a successful $5 million Series A funding round (at a $100 million valuation), providing a foundation for future scale and multi-chain initiatives.

December 10, 2025: Multiple exchanges listed KYO for spot trading and launched HODLer airdrop events, further increasing circulation and lowering the threshold for user participation.

Late 2025 and future outlook: Kyo Finance plans to launch a new front-end and UX upgrade (“Kyoto 2.0”), focusing on optimizing batch transactions, cross-chain relayer and solver mechanisms, improving overall user experience, and expanding support for additional blockchain networks and token standards.​

II. Token Information

III. Related Links