WeChat has become the most important social tool in China, as almost all the domestic social interactions are made on it. As in South Korea, the Korean “WeChat” is Kakao, the highly reputable social platform well recognized for its significant number of users and influences in the country. Kakao offers a variety of services such as food ordering, clothes, shoes and jewelry purchase, hotel reservation, ride hailing, chauffeur service, navigation, parking, transactions, etc. With all the functions above, Kakao’s status in South Korea speaks for itself.

Kakao’s efforts to create its own cryptocurrency led to the innovation of Klaytn. Developed by Kakao's blockchain division, Ground X, Klaytn is linked to Kakao’s ecosystem in form of the public chain as an extension of Kakao in the blockchain field.

It combines the best features of both public blockchains (decentralized data & control and distributed governance) and private blockchains (low latency and high scalability) through an efficient “hybrid” design, and adopts the term “BApp” instead of “DApp” for its Blockchain applications.

Klaytn’s development team had clear targets. They aimed at bringing microtechnology to users. With Klaytn, users do not need to be a cryptography expert or have a broad understanding of blockchain technology to deploy their own chain or join other chains on Klaytn, so that the users can easily create their own token-driven ecosystem on the platform. In addition, the seamless interoperability of the Klaytn network with traditional corporate assets (through corporate agents) provides convenience for teams planning to integrate blockchain functionality into their products.

Klaytn also aspires to become the biggest platform for NFT and DeFi in Asia that brings user-friendly blockchain experience to millions, providing an accessible development environment to convey the value of blockchain technology on a global scale. According to current data, Klaytn has partnered with numerous highly reputable brands around the globe to run its distributed network under transparent and shared governance, creating a reliable business platform atop the robust system on the basis of decentralized trust. At the same time, the Ethereum software company ConsenSys has also established a technical cooperation relationship with Klaytn, with the purpose of developing a private platform for the issuance of CBDC in Korea. At present, Klaytn has extended its global ecosystem to multiple strategic partners such as Binance, Huobi, LG Electronics, SK Telecom, and MakerDao.

Klaytn has extended its global ecosystem

Klaytn serves as the infrastructure for the development of the blockchain ecosystem in South Korea, supported by the country’s government and the banking sector. Backed by the power of Kakao, Klaytn is expected to absorb all Korean users into its own ecosystem and incorporate more industry areas to achieve an increase in its ecosystem value.

The current Klaytn blockchain system can be roughly divided into three sections: NFT, DeFi and its application ecosystem.

（Some of Klaytn’s Applications）

Klaytn’s application ecosystem mainly consists of stores(wallets), browsers and a variety of Bapps. Examples are as follows: (1) Klip: Klip is Kakao's built-in digital asset wallet and also the easiest access to the Klaytn ecosystem. Klip can be used to store Klaytn-based NFT, and it allows users to send KLAY to their KakaoTalk friends via an instant message, so that users no longer worry about remembering a long private key or even their wallet address. (2) Kaikas: Kaikas is a non-custodial, decentralized Klaytn wallet which can safely store, send, connect to various applications running on the Klaytn network. (3) nBlocks: nBlocks is a staking application that users can connect to Klaytn blockchain to get various tokens or manage the assets. (4) Klaytn Wallet: Klaytn Wallet is a Klaytn account management tool that connects to the Klaytn network through a web browser. (5) Klaytn IDE: The Klaytn IDE allows users to compile Solidity code in the browser and locally and to test and deploy smart contracts through the advanced developer experience.

(6) Klaytnscope: Klaytnscope offers users an insight into the Klaytn network by monitoring the network health and providing various statistics of Klaytn network. Users can also explore the block and transaction data on the Klaytn network.

(7) Other Klaytn Bapps.

Klaytn also extends its ecosystem to the field of DeFi by launching its own DEX, Klayswap, which is now one of the largest DeFi portals in South Korea. Klayswap supports the transfer of Ground X's own token, KLAY, as well as other tokens within the Klaytn ecosystem while providing its users with additional benefits such as transaction fee refunds. Also, the exchange can be accessed directly via Kakaotalk to simplify the process by investing in the liquidity pool and earning revenue.

Klaytn’s native coin, KLAY, is a functional token developed by the platform. It serves as a fuel for the healthy operation of the Klaytn protocol and a necessary element in the fields of internet transfer, yield farming and NFT minting. It can be used in a variety of forms, such as transaction fees, medium of exchange, pledge, collateral for secondary tokens, etc. Details are as follows:

(1)Transactions on the network: Users can use KLAY tokens to conduct transactions on the Klaytn network, similar to ETH.

(2)Digital mining: Users can provide liquidity through various DeFi protocols (e.g., Klayswap and Klaystation) to obtain tokens for other projects, or pledge KLAY tokens to obtain rewards. The pledged KLAY tokens can also be used for yield farming.

(3)NFT minting: Klaytn has cooperated with OpenSea to launch an NFT minting service, allowing users to create and manage NFTs on the Klaytn network.

It is reported that Klaytn plans to initiate new functions including online lending, smart mining, and aggregated exchange platforms to improve the utilization of investors' capital and achieve its volume growth. For now, Klaytn’s native currency, KLAY, has been listed by Binance and CoinEx. And in Korea, where cryptocurrency laws and regulations are mature and sound, Klaytn’s bright future is worth looking forward to. It seems that Klaytn has been ready for the next phase of growth.

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