Two of Asia's largest messaging apps, LINE and Kakao, have integrated and merged their blockchain projects to launch Kaia Blockchain, “Asia's largest Web 3 ecosystem.” Following the launch, developers can join the native Kaia Builders Program for a chance to win more than $1.2 million in grants and other prizes.
The launch of Kaia's mainnet, announced on August 29, aims to expand the Web 3 services market in Asia, aiming to build the largest Web 3 ecosystem in the region. The mainnet launch concludes with the announcement 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 happy to announce that the Kaia mainnet is now live, introducing the world's fastest and most efficient EVM-based blockchain.
Kaia delivers speeds of around 1 second and incredibly low gas costs. With strong backing from Web3 leaders… pic.twitter.com/VZDZO6LR7I
— Kaia (formerly Klaytn & Finschia) (@KaiaChain) August 29, 2024
Nonetheless, the launch of Kaia empowers developers and builders on the platform and provides a ready-made marketplace for developers, encouraging builders to create their own DApps that are accessible and scalable to millions.
Commenting on the mainnet launch, Dr Sam Seo, Chairman of the Kaia DLT Foundation said:
“The long-awaited launch of the Kaia mainnet heralds a new era of mass consumer adoption of blockchain-based services. Starting in Asia, Kaia will take Web3 to the rest of the world.”
Kaia is a highly optimized BFT-based blockchain designed to bring the benefits of Web 3 to users who meet enterprise-grade reliability and performance standards. The scalable Layer-1 blockchain aims to achieve instant transaction confirmation with sub-second block speeds, provide high transaction processing speeds for real-world use cases, and minimize transaction costs across decentralized applications (DApps).
The platform is the brainchild of Kakao and Line, who integrated blockchain startups Klaytn and Finschia Blockchain into Kaia. After the merger, Kaia also inherited the partnerships that the two companies had established, and at the time of writing, it boasts over 400 partners.
Going live on 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, as they already have blockchain integrated into their respective messenger apps, with a combined user base of over 250 million. Users can experience Web 3 services with the ease and speed of Web2 within the messenger super app, allowing them to connect, create, collaborate and contribute to the ecosystem.
Kaia plans to promote Web 3 services across Asia
As stated in the press release, Kaia users will be able to take advantage of “the world's fastest EVM blockchain” when the mainnet goes live on August 29. The blockchain will provide users with one-second block finality, ultra-low gas fees, and support from leading Web3 partners in Asia, including Kakao and LINE NEXT (a LINE venture dedicated to developing and expanding the Web3 ecosystem).
Additionally, Kaia's mainnet will drive innovation through integration with LINE and Kakao messenger apps to solve Web 3 UX and delivery challenges, supporting a vibrant ecosystem of DeFi, gaming, RWA and messenger apps running on scalable Web 3 infrastructure.
“The launch of the Kaia mainnet will be a major boost for the LINE NEXT business and mark an important step forward in expanding the Web3 ecosystem in Asia.”LINE NEXT Corporation CEO Ko Young-soo
In addition, the simultaneous release 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 run within LINE Messenger.
“LINE NEXT will focus on providing new experiences to users through Kaia Wave, our new Web3 platform, and LINE Mini Dapps.”Go Young-soo
Developers can leverage Kaia's low TX latency, account abstraction, and fee delegation features to create a seamless end-to-end UX and expand their reach to hundreds of millions of LINE users across Asia.
Building for the Web 3 User of the Future
Over the past few years, Klaytn (Kaia's predecessor) has seen rapid adoption in Asia, particularly in South Korea, where the technology is used for a variety of consumer use cases such as loyalty programs and medical implant certificates, while the Finschia blockchain is widely used across the continent, powering DOSI, a digital commerce platform where anyone can buy memberships, access passes, concert tickets and NFTs using crypto or fiat.
Both blockchain teams hope that the merger will build a stronger and more vibrant community in Asia and drive adoption of the platform from day one as Klaytn and Finschia projects migrate to Kaia.
To encourage the development of new DApps on Kaia, the team has launched the Kaia Wave Builder Support Program, developed by Kaia and LINE NEXT. The project will provide marketing, technical, and business support worth up to $1.2 million per eligible team, and grants to builders who leverage the NEXT Web SDK. Eligible teams will also benefit from Token Generation Events (TGEs) and liquidity support, as well as follow-up VC connections.
But the brightest spot of the mainnet launch is the collaboration between Kakao and LINE, which boast a combined total of 250 million users, all of whom will have access to the Kaia platform. With Kakaotalk covering 96% of South Korean residents and LINE being the dominant messenger in Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, Kaia begins its journey backed by huge marketplaces.