99.99% of stakers have voted YES for IIP-619 to release a brand new Injective mainnet upgrade that launches the most advanced MultiVM architecture to date.
Novel models for interoperability. Faster speeds. Dynamic RWAs. And much more.
Voting officially closes in 17 hours.
— Injective 🥷 (@injective) February 18, 2026
Catalysts Behind $INJ Surge
The governance greenlight centered on IIP-619, a proposal designed to upgrade Injective’s real-time EVM architecture and broaden the network’s MultiVM footprint. Governance passed with near-unanimous validator support as 99.99% of staked participants voted in favor, setting expectations for a faster and higher-capacity execution layer across multiple virtual machines. Following the official announcement, $INJ climbed from about $3 to roughly $3.40 and, at one point, spiked to $3.95. The proposal also points to deeper integration with Chainlink oracles for real-time feeds. It strengthens payments support and aims to improve pricing data for derivatives and RWAs.

Alongside the protocol catalyst, Pineapple Financial said a new dashboard shows it has accumulated more than 7 million $INJ, equal to 7% of total supply, with holdings rising through February. A large, disclosed holder is acting like a stabilizing bid even as broader altcoin sentiment remains cautious. On-chain, Artemis data put daily transaction fees around 14,000 $INJ, extending a multi-year uptrend that signals sustained usage. Everstake argued that rising fees over time reflect real staking, building, and trading rather than passive holding. But analysts warned these positives may not offset the sector’s risk aversion.
For portfolio managers, the move reads less like a breakout and more like a stress test of narrative durability. Execution risk now replaces hype as the core KPI because IIP-619 must translate into measurable throughput, better developer experience, and reliable oracle-connected pricing for DeFi workloads. With $INJ still more than 90% below its all-time high, incremental inflows matter, and the market will watch whether DAT’s accumulation continues or pauses. If network fees and participation stay firm, the rally can build credibility; if not, it risks fading into mean reversion. Next checkpoints are upgrades, flows.