Marlin (POND) Crypto Exchange

Marlin was founded by Siddhartha, Prateesh, and Roshan. Siddhartha previously worked as a developer at Zilliqa and has professional experience at Microsoft and Adobe, along with two US patents. Prateesh is a PhD candidate at MIT specializing in computer networks. Roshan is an open-source contributor known for his work on the Boost C++ libraries. The broader team includes former Ethereum Foundation researchers and advisors from MIT, Princeton, and the former CEO of BitTorrent.

Marlin operates at layer 0, focusing purely on network-level optimization rather than consensus, execution, or data availability. It is often described as an “incentivized libp2p,” similar to how Filecoin incentivizes IPFS. This positioning allows Marlin to be used by virtually any peer-to-peer or blockchain-based system, independent of the underlying protocol.

Marlin uses a dual-token model consisting of POND and MPOND.

MPOND is primarily used for staking by Metanodes and plays a key role in securing and operating the network. POND serves as the ecosystem’s utility token, supporting governance participation, rewards, and broader incentive mechanisms. The two tokens are connected through an on-chain conversion mechanism defined by the protocol.

Network security is enforced through a combination of Ethereum smart contracts and economic incentives. Metanodes stake MPOND and face slashing penalties for malicious behavior or performance failures, such as enabling DDoS attacks. Performance guarantees are achieved through tunable redundancy and erasure coding. A decentralized network of third-party auditors, approved by the Pond DAO, continuously monitors service-level agreements (SLAs). If guarantees are violated, an on-chain insurance fund compensates affected users.

MarlinVM enables developers to create specialized network overlays tailored to specific use cases. Examples include low-latency networks for blockchain mempool synchronization, private mixnets designed for anonymity, optimized mesh networks for connected devices, and decentralized caching layers that reduce reliance on centralized infrastructure providers such as Infura.

Marlin has received backing from major institutional investors in the crypto ecosystem, including Binance Labs, Electric Capital, and Michael Arrington’s fund, reflecting strong confidence in its infrastructure-focused approach.