Asia’s Top Messanger Apps, LINE And Kakao Partner To Launch Kaia Blockchain

Two of Asia’s biggest messaging apps, LINE and Kakao, combine their blockchain projects in a merger, launching the ‘largest Web 3 ecosystem in Asia’ – Kaia blockchain. Following the launch, developers can join the native Kaia builder’s program with a chance to win over $1.2 million worth of grants and other prizes. 

Kaia’s mainnet launch, announced on August 29, is set to expand the Web 3 service market in Asia, with an aim to create the largest Web 3 ecosystem in the region. The mainnet launch will be punctuated with the unveiling of ‘Kaia’s Wave Builder Support Program’, built in partnership with LINE NEXT, to accelerate consumer adoption of Web 3 services. 

🟢⚫️ Exciting news! We are thrilled to share that Kaia Mainnet is now live, introducing the world’s fastest and most efficient EVM-based blockchain.

Kaia delivers processing speeds of approximately one second and remarkably low gas fees. With strong backing from Web3 leaders… pic.twitter.com/VZDZO6LR7I

— Kaia (prev. Klaytn & Finschia) (@KaiaChain) August 29, 2024

Notwithstanding, Kaia’s launch also empowers developers and builders on the platform, providing them with a ready-made market for developers. This incentivizes the builders to create original DApps that are accessible and scalable to millions. 

On launching the mainnet, Dr. Sam Seo, Chairman of Kaia DLT Foundation, said:

“The much-anticipated launch of the Kaia mainnet heralds a new era for the mass consumer adoption of blockchain-based services. Kaia will bring web3 to the rest of the world, starting from Asia.”

Kaia is a highly optimized, BFT-based blockchain designed to bring the benefits of Web 3 to users meeting enterprise-grade reliability and performance standards. The scalable Layer 1 blockchain aims to achieve immediate finality for transactions with block speeds of less than one second, provide high transaction processing speed for real-world use cases, and minimize the cost of transactions across decentralized applications (DApps). 

The platform is a brainchild of Kakao and Line, who merged their two blockchain startups, Klaytn and Finschia blockchains, into Kaia. Following the merger, Kaia also inherited the partnerships the two companies had made, boasting over 400 partners, as of writing. 

Going live on the mainnet aims to open up the Web 3 industry to millions of Asian users. The partnership between LINE and Kakao bodes well for this goal, with the blockchain already integrated into the respective messenger apps, which have a combined user base of over 250 million. Users will now be able to experience Web 3 services, with the ease and speed of web2 within their messenger super app to connect, create, collaborate, and contribute to the ecosystem.

Kaia plans to advance Web 3 services across Asia

Once the mainnet goes live on August 29, Kaia users will be treated to the “world’s fastest EVM blockchain”, as the press statement reads. The blockchain will offer users one-second block finality, ultra-low gas fees, and support from leading Asian web3 partners including Kakao and LINE NEXT, LINE’s venture dedicated to developing and expanding the Web3 ecosystem.

In addition, Kaia’s mainnet will solve the Web 3 UX and distribution challenges by advancing innovations via its integration with LINE and Kakao messenger apps. This will support a thriving ecosystem of DeFi, gaming, RWAs, and messenger apps running on scalable web3 infrastructure.

“The launch of the Kaia mainnet is an important momentum for the LINE NEXT business as well, and I think it has started an important first step toward expanding the Asian Web3 ecosystem,” said Youngsu Ko, CEO of LINE NEXT Inc.

Moreover, the coinciding launch of the NEXT Web SDK package, which includes the Kaia Wallet SDK, Kaia Wallet Market API and LINE LIFF API, will enable developers to build creative INE Mini Dapps that launch within the LINE messenger. 

“LINE NEXT will focus on bringing new experiences to users with the new Web3 platform and LINE Mini Dapps through Kaia Wave,” Ko added. 

Developers can leverage Kaia’s low TX latency, account abstraction, and fee delegation features to create end-to-end seamless UX while extending their reach to hundreds of millions of LINE users across Asia.

Building for the future Web 3 user

In the past couple of years, Klaytn (Kaia’s predecessor) has witnessed rapid adoption rates in Asia, particularly South Korea, where the technology is used in several consumer-facing use cases such as loyalty programs and medical implant certificates. On the other hand, the Finschia blockchain has seen widespread usage in the continent by powering DOSI, a digital commerce platform where anyone can purchase memberships, access passes, concert tickets, and NFTs using crypto or fiat.

The teams from both blockchains expect the merger will build stronger and more vibrant communities in Asia, driving adoption to the platform from day one as projects on Klaytn and Finschia move to Kaia. 

To promote the development of new DApps on Kaia, the team launched the Kaia Wave Builder Support Program, developed by Kaia and LINE NEXT. The project will provide up to $1.2M worth of marketing, tech, and business support per eligible team, with grants available to builders who leverage the NEXT Web SDK. Notwithstanding, eligible teams will also benefit from the token generation event (TGE) and liquidity support as well as follow-up VC connections.

The brightest point of the mainnet launch, however, is the collaboration with Kakao and LINE, which boast 250 million combined users – all having access to Kaia’s platform. With Kakaotalk tapping 96% of South Korean residents while LINE is the dominant messenger in Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand, Kaia kicks off its journey with a huge marketplace backing it.