Solana DeFi Firms Orca and Loopscale Merge Under New Formation Brand

In brief

• Orca and Loopscale merged under the Formation brand, headquartered in New York, with Loopscale co-founder Luke Truitt as CEO; financial terms were not disclosed.
• Formation targets financing for AI, energy, robotics and defense assets, backed by Orca's $550 billion-plus in trading volume and Loopscale's $150 million in deposits and $2 billion in loans facilitated.
• Formation plans to operate a tokenized securities venue under the SEC's five-year Innovation Exemption and to introduce issuer tools within 12 months.

Solana decentralized exchange Orca and lending protocol Loopscale are merging into a single company called Formation, the two teams announced Wednesday.

The new firm is headquartered in New York and led by Loopscale co-founder Luke Truitt as CEO, with fellow co-founder Mary Gooneratne as chief operating officer and Orca's Christopher Montagano as chief strategy and legal officer. Neither announcement discloses financial terms.

Formation pairs Orca's trading infrastructure with Loopscale's credit order book and vaults, so an issuer can launch an asset with trading and credit live from day one, according to Loopscale's FAQ. Orca has processed more than $550 billion in trading volume since 2021, while Loopscale reports more than $150 million in deposits and over $2 billion in loans facilitated, according to the companies’ own numbers.