Orca, Loopscale merge to launch Formation

Solana-based decentralized exchange Orca and DeFi protocol Loopscale are merging to relaunch as Formation, The Block reported. Terms of the merger were not disclosed, and Loopscale co-founder Luke Truitt will serve as CEO. Formation plans to combine Orca’s trading infrastructure with Loopscale’s lending and investment vaults to support everything from asset issuance and fundraising to trading. The company also aims to expand beyond crypto into capital-intensive industries including AI, energy, robotics, and defense, while longer term seeking to offer services that can access regulated U.S. capital markets. The existing Orca and Loopscale protocols will remain in place after the merger as the foundation of the ORCA and xORCA token networks.