South Korea's No. 1 Mobile Messenger Kakao's Blockchain Platform 'Klaytn' Partners with Large-User Based Blockchain Projects Including 'Watcha' and 'Atlas'

Service providers with massive user base to drive mainstream adoption of blockchain

Klaytn to continue expanding partnerships to validate blockchain's value and utility

SEOUL,South Korea,Dec. 11,2018 -- Kakao's global public blockchain platform 'Klaytn' has announced its partnership with blockchain projects developed by large user pool-based service providers,most notably 'Watcha' and 'Atlas.'

Klaytn Initial Service Partners

Klaytn prioritizes its efforts on the mass adoption of blockchain-empowered services as to substantiate the value and utility of blockchain technology. In doing so,Klaytn has made partnerships with 9 service providers including 'Wemade Tree' and 'Piction Network' in October,and established additional partnerships with 8 blockchain projects including 'Contents Protocol' powered by 'Watcha,' 'Atlas' powered by 'Zanadu,' and 'BORA' developed by 'Way2Bit.'

Using the deployed Klaytn testnet,the partners work towards further reinforcing Klaytn's ecosystem by releasing their DApp servicesat the time of themainnet launch,and will thereby contribute to the popularization of blockchain. Until the mainnet release in the first half of 2019,Klaytn will continue to expand its partnerships.

'Contents Protocol,' a content review data platform powered by 'Watcha',a film rating and recommendation app with 4.5 million users,is joining Klaytn. The protocol records users' film-related activities including rating,reviews,and recommendations performed within 'Watcha Play' onto blockchain technology and rewards users based on their contribution. Contents Protocol also plans to collaborate with other digital content platforms in areas of music,comics,e-books,etc.,thereby scaling the reach of blockchain in respective markets.

Atlas is a blockchain-based travel content and transaction platform developed by China's leading luxury travel company Zanadu with an established user base of 2 million high-end travelers. Atlas,based in Singapore,connects all consumers and suppliers in the travel industry to a decentralized marketplace that incentivizes content creation,transaction and consent-based sharing,and ultimately contribute towards invigorating the entire value chain in the travel industry through a transparent and fair ecosystem.

BORA,a blockchain-based digital content platform,developed by Way2Bit is also joining Klaytn. As a game and digital content platform,BORA proposes solutions to revitalize of digital content service distribution and user participation based on transparent transaction records on blockchain. BORA has also previously partnered with over 20 major game developers in Korea including '4:33,' 'Action Square,' 'Factorial Games,' and 'Thumbage.'

Other notable industry partners include 'SPIN Protocol,' an influencer driven-social commerce platform; 'Cloudbric,' a deep-learning security solution spun-off from the global security tech firm 'Penta Security'; 'Insureum,' a data-sharing blockchain protocol for the enrichment of the insurance value chain,powered by the healthcare startup 'Zikto'; 'Knocknock,' a blockchain-based ID verification service powered by Singapore-based 'IDBook' in technological partnership with 'WEWAY'; and,'Antube,' a short-video entertainment service powered by 'DATA' integrated with 'Yomob,' a mobile ad monetization platform which serves ads to over 120 million users on monthly basis.

"Klaytn is partnering with successful firms that have developed and operated services accruing millions of users,and the collaboration will contribute to building a user-friendly blockchain service," said Jason Han,the CEO of Ground X,heading the development and operation of Klaytn. He further added,"Together with initial service partners,Klaytn will take the blockchain industry to the next level by focusing on creating meaningful real use-cases,which stands as the next key challenge in our industry."

Klaytn,which has launched the testnet exclusively to its partners last October,is dedicated to the mass adoption of blockchain. In doing so,Klaytn provides user-friendly UX/UI and intuitive DX environment for developers to create blockchain services. Klaytn also separates CNs (consensus nodes) and RNs (ranger nodes) to divide roles between consensus and block replication in favor of efficiency. After completing the Klaytn testnet run to its exclusive partners,Klaytn plans to launch the mainnet in the first half of 2019. Until the official mainnet release,Klaytn will continue to expand its partnerships.

Any service providers and developers interested in using Klaytn testnet can register on the official Klaytn homepage at www.klaytn.comand apply for a partnership screening.

Continuing its community building efforts,Klaytn has successfully held 'Hello,Klaytn in BKK' meetup on November 27th in Bangkok. This Bangkok meetup followed Klaytn's very first public event,'Hello,Klaytn in SF,' which took place in San Francisco,California during the San Francisco Blockchain Week back in October. Klaytn plans to hold additional meetups in various locations with the goal to expand the reach of blockchain and increase its awareness in global markets.

[About Klaytn]

Klaytn is a public blockchain platform of the leading South Korean mobile platform,Kakao. Dedicated to validating the value and utility of blockchain technology by providing a blockchain service for mass adoption,Klaytn provides an easy development environment and friendly user experience. Klaytn seeks to continue advancing the platform to offer blockchain services for millions of users.

Photo - /20181206/2319358-1