South Korean Internet Giant Kakao’s Blockchain Platform to Launch in June

Ground X, the blockchain arm of South Korean internet giant Kakao Corp, has announced the launch date of its own blockchain platform, a Cointelegraph correspondent learned at Consensus 2019 on May 13.

Per the announcement, the Klaytn mainnet will launch on June 27, 2019, and will purportedly be a major driver of blockchain adoption in the country. Kakao has a 96% market share in South Korea, with a presence in messaging, gaming, content services, financial services and mobility services.

Kakao announced its intention of launching a blockchain platform last March, and released a testnet version of Klaytn in October. The platform focuses on decentralized apps (DApps). As of October last year, developers were working with around ten domestic and international partners to test the new ecosystem.

More recently, Kakao has repeated its initial coin offering (ICO) to raise an additional $90 million for Klaytn. In December, the firm announced plans to raise a total of $300 million through Ground X to develop a native token.

Kakao also purportedly has plans to release an integrated crypto wallet in its messaging app, KakaoTalk, following the release of the Klaytn mainnet, according to South Korean outlet Fnnews.