Injective stakers gave the green light for a big institutional push

@injective's $INJ stakers have approved the Meridian mainnet upgrade by a near-unanimous margin, clearing the path for what the network's developers describe as its most significant institutional push to date. The governance proposal, designated IIP-701, passed on September 22 with roughly 99% support and is scheduled to go live on September 24, 2026.

Compliance Baked Into the Protocol

The core of Meridian is a new regulated token standard on Injective's EVM layer. The upgrade adds support for regulated token implementations to the Injective EVM, letting issuers embed compliance and transfer requirements directly into tokenized products. Injective's approach with Meridian is to make compliance a protocol-level feature rather than an application-level add-on. When regulatory requirements live at the token standard level, every application built on top inherits those protections automatically.

The Injective Labs team frames the change as a purpose-built foundation for compliant real-world-asset launches, tokenized equities, and new financial instruments that can be issued, traded, and settled onchain. New MultiVM capabilities keep those asset controls consistent across Injective's native and EVM environments, while an exchange precompile gives EVM applications more direct access to the network's liquidity and settlement layer.

The upgrade does not arrive in isolation. It comes roughly five weeks after Injective Institutional Services received SEC transfer agent registration, effective August 19, 2026. That regulatory milestone, combined with Meridian, positions the chain as a compliance-native venue for institutional asset issuance.

Private RFQ Testing and the Road to CypherOS

Meridian also initiates early testing of private request-for-quote (RFQ) transaction flows, which are the building blocks for CypherOS, Injective's planned privacy platform. In an RFQ model, institutional participants request prices from a select pool of market makers rather than posting orders to a public order book, offering better execution on large trades without moving the market.

Beyond the headline features, the upgrade includes improvements to market execution mechanics, risk controls, and oracle reliability. With the voting window closed on September 22 and deployment set for two days later, the turnaround is notably fast.

The Meridian upgrade is the latest step in a deliberate sequencing strategy. It follows earlier RWA work on the chain, including Pineapple Financial's tokenization of $1 billion in mortgage records. For $INJ holders, the token itself is positioned as a potential settlement asset for institutional RWA trading activity, meaning demand for $INJ to pay transaction fees and participate in governance could increase as tokenized securities are issued and traded on the network.

Sources:
Injective Meridian mainnet upgrade proposal passes with 99% support, Crypto Briefing
Injective Meridian Upgrade Aims for September 24 Mainnet Activation, KuCoin
Injective Meridian Upgrade Vote Targets September 24 Mainnet Activation, CryptoRank