Author: Imagine Creation Combinator (ICC)

1. Overview of the Kaia Blockchain Ecosystem

1.1 Origins and Team Background

Kaia is formed through the merger of the Klaytn and Finschia blockchains initially developed by Kakao and LINE respectively. Klaytn is a blockchain platform launched in June 2019 by Ground X, the blockchain subsidiary of the Kakao Group. Its early governance consortium included major Korean enterprises such as LG Electronics, Celltrion and Netmarble, providing a solid foundation for the development and adoption of blockchain applications. LINE originally launched its blockchain platform as the LINK chain in August 2018 through its blockchain subsidiary, LINE TECH PLUS. It was later rebranded as Finschia in 2022. In April 2023, LINE established the Finschia Foundation in Abu Dhabi to operate the Finschia mainnet and its native token, LINK, while actively driving its governance toward a decentralized, community-led model. In January 2024, the Klaytn Foundation and the Finschia Foundation each submitted proposals to their respective communities to merge their mainnets in order to build “Asia’s largest Web3 network.” After approval, the two chains officially merged at the end of August 2024 to launch the brand-new Kaia mainnet. The merged Kaia blockchain is now governed by the newly formed Kaia DLT Foundation, fully integrating — and inheriting — the core technical and governance strengths of both Klaytn and Finschia.

Against this powerful ecosystem backdrop, Kaia aims to become an L1 blockchain dedicated to large-scale applications, featuring high TPS and developer-friendly tools. Its core advantages lie in a mature SDK ecosystem and deep integration with the KakaoTalk and LINE platforms, enabling decentralized applications to run directly within these mainstream social channels. As a public blockchain based on a BFT consensus mechanism, Kaia has been highly optimized to meet enterprise-grade reliability and performance standards, providing a robust foundation for the next generation of Web3 applications.

1.2 Key Development Timeline

1.3 Main Features

Kaia adopts a layered node architecture, with the foundational layer composed of multiple “Core Cells.” Each Core Cell contains Consensus Nodes (CN) and Proxy Nodes (PN), while additional nodes such as Endpoint Nodes (EN) operate on the periphery (as illustrated below). The Kaia mainnet utilizes an enhanced Byzantine Fault Tolerance consensus algorithm (a variant of Istanbul BFT) to ensure efficient consensus. The network achieves a 1-second block time and instant finality, currently operating with over 50 consensus nodes and reaching a theoretical peak throughput of approximately 4,000 TPS. During consensus, committee members are randomly selected via a Verifiable Random Function (VRF), and consensus messages are exchanged only within the committee. This approach helps minimize communication overhead and ensures security as the network scales.

Kaia’s Service Chains provide highly specialized execution environments. They support cross-chain token transfers and anchoring of data to the mainnet, and can integrate multi-signature bridging contracts to meet enterprise-grade security standards.

Kaia is EVM-compatible, allowing for seamless deployment of Ethereum-based smart contracts. The platform is integrated with various cross-chain bridges, such as Stargate and Orbiter, enabling assets from Ethereum and other chains to flow into Kaia effortlessly. For instance, the Orbiter bridge, powered by ZK technology, has already connected to Kaia, facilitating secure asset transfers between Kaia and Ethereum.

Furthermore, Kaia is tightly integrated with LINE messaging ecosystems. By providing SDKs and APIs, developers can deploy native Mini Dapps within chat applications. With 196 million monthly active users in LINE, this integration lays a solid foundation for broad ecosystem adoption. In May 2025, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, Tether, officially launched native USDT on the Kaia Chain. As a result, Kaia users can now send payments and perform cross-border transfers using stablecoins directly through their chat interfaces.

Kaia employs a sustainable token economic model. Its native token, KAIA, is used to pay transaction fees and incentivize network operations. For each block generated, newly minted KAIA is distributed according to a fixed allocation:

• 50% goes to the block proposer (10%) and stakers (40%),
• The remaining 50% is equally split between the Ecosystem Fund (25%) and Infrastructure Fund (25%).

Kaia supports on-chain governance, allowing the community to vote on parameters such as the annual inflation rate and fee structures. This enables a dynamic balance between inflation control and value-based incentives. During the chain merger, existing tokens from Klaytn and Finschia were converted into KAIA at a predefined ratio, and the initial token supply rebalance was conducted transparently via smart contracts.

Compared to other major public blockchains, Kaia offers distinct advantages:

• It focuses on the Asian market and onboards massive user bases from Kakao and LINE into the Web3 ecosystem.
• It features a consensus algorithm with second-level finality, ensuring a low-latency, high-throughput user experience.
• Its ecosystem rapidly integrates key assets such as stablecoins — e.g., native USDT on Kaia.

These features — including deep social platform integration and user-oriented product design — give Kaia a unique edge in advancing large-scale blockchain adoption.

2. Ecosystem Development Progress

Over the past year, Kaia has focused on infrastructure development and ecosystem expansion, advancing steadily across multiple dimensions — including the deployment of the Mini Dapp ecosystem, the establishment of on-chain stablecoin channels, ecosystem investments, strategic partnerships, and developer and community support — gradually building a fully integrated and self-sustaining Web3 network ecosystem.

2.1 Kaia Wave Program and the Mini Dapp Ecosystem

In August, 2024, the Kaia mainnet officially went live, and the Kaia Wave program was announced simultaneously. This marked Kaia’s launch as the world’s fastest, most efficient EVM-compatible public chain. The mainnet was designed to achieve roughly a 1-second block time and extremely low gas fees, satisfying the on-chain experience requirements of massive user bases.

Concurrently, the Kaia Wave program — developed jointly by Kaia and LINE NEXT — leverages the NEXT WEB SDK created by LINE NEXT. Through this SDK, Web3 developers can build Mini Dapps for LINE Messenger users. By tapping into LINE’s large user communities in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia, Kaia accelerates the connection between on-chain projects and end users. The program aims to integrate technical and commercial resources, building a bridge between global Web3 projects and local Asian ecosystems to promote Web3 application adoption.

Under the Kaia Wave program, the first batch of Mini Dapp projects went live inside LINE Messenger in Q1 2025. These selected projects were chosen from approximately 800 team applications spanning multiple verticals. Each selected team receives support such as access to development kits (SDKs), gas-fee sponsorship, co-marketing opportunities, and potential Kaia Wave investment.

To further stimulate ecosystem activity, Kaia and the LINE Dapp Portal jointly launched the Mini Dapp Growth Competition. This contest focuses on each project’s monthly active users (MAU) and on-chain token holder growth. It includes incentive mechanisms and dedicated promotion resources to identify high-growth-potential applications. So far, two rounds of the competition have been successfully completed, continuously driving rapid growth in the Kaia network’s Mini Dapp ecosystem and attracting an increasing number of developer teams to build and remain active on Kaia.

Launched alongside the Mini Dapp program is Dapp Portal — a Dapp directory and gateway accessible directly through LINE Messenger. Dapp Portal allows end users to discover and install various Kaia ecosystem Dapps without leaving the familiar LINE environment. Users can earn rewards and trade virtual assets within the same interface. Dapp Portal provides a one-stop service experience, covering Dapp discovery, installation, usage rewards, and asset trading, thereby lowering the barrier to entry for Web3 services. Developers can use Dapp Portal to expand project visibility and gather user feedback more efficiently.

2.2 Kaia Stablecoin Initiative

The Stablecoin initiative is one of the Kaia ecosystem’s core projects this year, aimed at providing users and developers with a more robust and convenient on-chain financial experience. After Kaia leveraged lightweight, easy-to-use Mini Dapps to rapidly attract over 35 million users on the LINE and Kakao platforms (as of March 2025), ecosystem momentum continued to climb. To further solidify its financial infrastructure and offer users stable value expectations, Kaia formed a strategic partnership with Tether — the world’s largest stablecoin issuer — and in May 2025 natively issued USDT on the Kaia chain.

Unlike traditional USDT bridged in from other chains, Kaia’s USDT is deployed entirely as a native contract on the Kaia network (which is EVM-compatible) and is directly custodied and issued by Tether, ensuring a real-time 1:1 US dollar reserve parity. This not only significantly enhances transaction speed and security but also greatly reduces cross-chain fees and operational complexity.

The first batch of native USDT has already been integrated into the Mini Dapp ecosystem within LINE Messenger, leveraging LINE’s social network of 196 million monthly active users to enable everyday stablecoin usage. Users can complete in-app payments, cross-border transfers, and decentralized finance (DeFi) activities directly within the familiar LINE environment via Mini Dapps. Key application scenarios include:

• Users can earn USDT rewards by completing tasks in various Mini Dapps, aiding promotional campaigns and boosting user retention.
• Users can conveniently send and receive USDT through the built-in wallet in LINE Messenger, enabling an instant and seamless social transfer experience.
• LINE NEXT is considering integrating USDT into more Mini Dapp features to create a closed-loop experience spanning from social interaction to finance.

Meanwhile, several leading exchanges have added support for the USDT–KAIA network: Bitget has fully opened deposit and withdrawal functions for USDT on KAIA, and Bitfinex has also launched a USDT gateway on the Kaia network. Currently, USDT–KAIA deposits and withdrawals are supported on Bybit, Bitget, Bitfinex, and Gate.io. These listings provide users with more diversified on- and off-ramp channels, further enhancing liquidity and accessibility.

Looking ahead, following the successful launch of native USDT, the Kaia team is fully promoting the issuance plan for a Korean Won (KRW) stablecoin — Kaia’s “Stablecoin Summer” has only just begun. Kaia Chain Chairman Sam Seo explained that Kaia’s predecessor (the Klaytn team) once participated in the Bank of Korea’s CBDC project, laying a solid foundation for stablecoin development. Notably, LINE — the operator of the Finschia mainnet and now an integral part of the Kaia ecosystem — also contributed to the Bank of Korea’s CBDC consulting project, with later simulation testing carried out by Klaytn through Ground X. This shared institutional experience strengthens Kaia’s credibility in building compliant and scalable digital currency infrastructure.

This combination of a “KRW stablecoin + Kaia” will not only inject more liquidity pegged to real-world assets into the ecosystem but is also expected to accelerate the adoption and implementation of Web3 applications throughout South Korea. On this foundation, Kaia will leverage USDT’s stability and reach to roll out a series of impactful on-chain financial products and services, including: tokenization of physical assets, fiat on- and off-ramp channels, support from major domestic and international exchanges, NFT and in-game economy systems, and deeper partnerships with additional DeFi, payment, and consumer scenarios.

By continuously refining the issuance mechanism and user experience of native USDT, the Kaia ecosystem will further enhance user stickiness and partnership appeal, steadily advancing the long-term vision of “Web3 accessible to everyone, value portable everywhere.”

2.3 Ecosystem Investment Progress

In April 2025, the Kaia Foundation announced a funding round led by 1kx and Blockchain Capital, with participation from Galaxy Digital, The Spartan Group, IDG Capital, Mirana Ventures, SNZ Holding, Comma3 Ventures, Caladan, Lingfeng Capital, Waterdrip Capital, and MEXC Ventures.

This collaboration with 1kx and Blockchain Capital — two of the largest investment firms in Europe and the Americas — will greatly aid in introducing LINE NEXT and Mini Dapp services to the market and strengthening its global market presence through business network sharing. The partnership includes business strategy development, collaboration with the Kaia project, connections with traditional financial companies like Visa, content and marketing support, validator operations, and core talent recruitment. Furthermore, Kaia Foundation plans to actively utilize the business networks of multiple investment firms.

This funding round not only recognizes Kaia’s achievements to date but also means these institutions will provide in-depth support for international market expansion, regulatory framework construction, and ecosystem partnership networks, helping Kaia rapidly establish a presence in key markets across Europe, the Americas, and Southeast Asia. Combined with the user traffic advantages of the two super-apps (LINE and Kakao), Kaia’s globalization process will enter a substantive acceleration phase. Kaia also plans to reinforce its role as the “Asian gateway to digital dollars” through its “Stablecoin Summer”.

2.4 Strategic Ecosystem Partnerships

Kaia has continuously expanded its strategic collaborations across data visualization, secure custody, asset circulation, real-world use cases, and funding support.

• November 2024 (Dune): Kaia integrated with the Dune analytics platform. On-chain data — such as transaction volume, gas fees, and Dapp usage — became available on Dune. Now, over 700,000 user-generated dashboards can track Kaia ecosystem metrics in real time. This collaboration enables developers and analysts to monitor cross-chain transactions and Dapp activity on Kaia, providing visualized support for ecosystem health evaluation and iterative decision-making.
• January 2025 (Fireblocks): Kaia partnered with Fireblocks. Fireblocks’ MPC (multi-party computation) technology offers secure asset custody and cross-border payment support for Kaia ecosystem partners (including financial institutions and project teams). Leveraging Fireblocks’ API suite, institutional users can quickly build compliant on-chain applications, streamlining KYC/AML processes and strengthening on-chain asset security.
• January 2025 (KuCoin): Kaia established a strategic partnership with the global cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin. KuCoin will grant priority listing reviews and investment support for Mini Dapps built on Kaia. Through co-marketing campaigns and platform promotions, they aim to boost global visibility and community engagement for Kaia Web3 projects.
• February 2025 (Republic): Kaia formed a strategic partnership with Republic. Republic brings expertise in token economics design and ecosystem expansion, providing one-on-one advisory support to Mini Dapp developers. They assist projects with fundraising planning and token-model optimization. Republic also connects teams to its global Web3 investor network, giving standout projects opportunities for ongoing post-investment support and rapid market resource access.
• February 2025 (MEXC): The Kaia Foundation partnered with the leading crypto exchange MEXC. Together, they will identify promising Mini Dapps and provide educational and advisory support for market entry. To commemorate this collaboration, MEXC launched a limited-time zero-fee trading promotion for the KAIA/USDC pair and introduced a KAIA/USDT perpetual contract, leveraging MEXC’s professional derivatives infrastructure.
• April 2025 (Travala): Kaia partnered with Travala, a blockchain travel booking platform, integrating KAIA into Travala’s payment system. Users can now pay for flights, hotels, and other travel services using KAIA. This expands KAIA’s real-world usage, enhances the Kaia ecosystem’s applicability in everyday consumer scenarios, and leverages Travala’s global travel user base to amplify Kaia’s influence in the DeFi+RealFi space.
• April 2025 (Team Finance): Kaia integrated with Team Finance, enabling project teams to quickly set up token locks, release schedules, and multi-signature management on the Team Finance platform — without writing smart contracts. Team Finance’s lockup, airdrop, and multisig support helps teams manage initial token circulation responsibly, bolster community trust, and aligns with Kaia’s Asian market promotion resources.

2.5 Developer Support and Community Building

Developer and community growth has always been a core focus of the Kaia ecosystem. Over the past year, the Kaia Foundation has bolstered the developer experience and stimulated community engagement through tool releases, content incentives, and educational initiatives.

• Early 2025: The Kaia team conducted clinic sessions and lectures at various educational institutions in Singapore. This initiative aimed to enhance student understanding of blockchain technology and smart contract security through educational outreach programs.
• April 2025 (Kaito Yapper Leaderboard): Kaia joined Kaito’s Yapper Leaderboard and launched a 100,000 USDC reward pool, inviting community members to produce high-quality content about the Kaia ecosystem. Participants earned rewards based on leaderboard rankings. This campaign generated thousands of tweets and discussions, significantly increasing Kaia’s presence on Twitter/X and attracting more content creators to the Kaia ecosystem.
• April 2025 (DEX Scanner): Kaia released the DEX Scanner feature within Dapp Portal. With DEX Scanner, users can monitor on-chain metrics — such as liquidity pool depth, price movements, and trading pair premiums — across decentralized exchanges in real time. This tool simplifies on-chain trading and empowers community members to participate more effectively in Kaia’s DeFi ecosystem.
• May 2025 (Developer Bootcamp Pre-Registration): Kaia opened pre-registration for its Developer Bootcamp. This hands-on training program provides systematic support for developers building on the Kaia network. Covering everything from core concepts to deploying applications in a Web3-native environment, the bootcamp helps developers advance from fundamental knowledge to full-stack Dapp development.
• June 2025 (Kaia Agent Kit): Kaia launched the Kaia Agent Kit developer suite. Kaia Agent Kit enables developers to build AI-driven on-chain agents capable of automatically executing token transfers, calling smart contracts, monitoring market signals, and triggering trades — achieving “AI + on-chain” intelligent collaboration. By deeply integrating AI with blockchain, Kaia Agent Kit brings a new generation of automated operational capabilities to DeFi, NFT, gaming, and other scenarios. This marks a critical milestone in Kaia’s progress in the intersection of smart contracts and AI.

In summary, over the past year Kaia has intensified its efforts across multiple fronts — public chain performance, native stablecoin issuance, capital investment, strategic partnerships, and developer support — laying the groundwork for a fully integrated Web3 ecosystem. Whether it’s the Kaia Wave initiative accelerating Mini Dapp rollout, the innovative launch of native USDT, the onboarding of top-tier investment firms, collaborations with numerous strategic partners, or a global series of incentives and training for developers and communities, each has solidified the Kaia chain’s steady growth and diversified applications. Looking ahead, Kaia will continue to put technology-driven, collaborative innovation at its core, partnering with ecosystem stakeholders and the community to usher in a new era of mainstream adoption and widespread proliferation of Web3 applications.

3. Summary of Outstanding Projects in the Kaia Ecosystem

Since the launch of the Kaia Mini Dapp Growth Competition, a wave of innovative applications has emerged, spanning verticals such as Web3 gaming, social networking, DeFi protocols, and health-focused solutions. After two intense rounds of competition, a cohort of representative projects has risen to prominence, demonstrating robust user growth, exceptional product capabilities, and substantial ecosystem potential.

Below are the top representative projects from the Kaia Mini Dapp Growth Competition. These teams are rapidly driving Kaia’s ecosystem toward a more diverse and prosperous future.

3.1 Top Projects with Completed TGE

Elderglade

Elderglade is a fast-growing Web3 game ecosystem, currently live as a viral real-time PvP mobile game with over 11 million players. It’s available on LINE Messenger, Telegram, Google Play, App Store, and browser, making it one of the most accessible and distributed Web3 games to date.

The ecosystem has reached commercial scale, generating over $2 million in monthly in-game revenue. With 7M+ wallets, support for eight languages, and coverage in 180+ countries, Elderglade boasts a 20.5% conversion rate — three times that of Candy Crush and Genshin Impact. Its ARPPU (Average Revenue Per Paying User) stands at $7.11, exceeding metrics for PUBG Mobile, Clash Royale, and Call of Duty Mobile.

Elderglade (ELDE) was selected by Binance Alpha in May, further reinforcing its market momentum and growth outlook. Its native token ELDE was also officially listed in May across major exchanges including Bybit, KuCoin, Gate.io, and MEXC.

Bombie

Bombie is a zombie shooting game on LINE. Bombie not only brings the excitement of fighting zombies, but also provides players with the opportunity to earn crypto tokens through airdrops and in-game activities. With the growing popularity of this game, players have the opportunity to collect Bombie’s tokens. The original token from Bombie is a reward for the participation of its players.

The game has now surpassed 11 million players across all platforms, with 68,000 daily active users, and achieves an impressive ARPPU (Average Revenue Per Paying User) of $110.79 — a figure that significantly outperforms industry standards for mobile games. The official game token BOMB was listed in June across major exchanges including ByBit, KuCoin and MEXC.

Frog Defense

Frog Defense is a groundbreaking mini Dapp debuting on the Kaia Blockchain and LINE, introducing the viral TikTok sensation Frog Pikeman, with a fanbase of 1.7 million followers, to the Web3 gaming space. As LINE’s first Mini Dapp tower defense game, Frog Defense blends engaging gameplay with the viral appeal of memes, creating an exciting entry point for millions of users to explore the rewarding potential of blockchain gaming.

The game’s native token, FOFO, was officially listed on BingX in May, marking an important milestone in the project’s Web3 expansion.

Lair

Lair Finance is a next-generation liquid staking solution built on Kaia KIP-163: CnStakingV3, designed to make KAIA token staking easy and efficient. It allows users to maintain the liquidity of their staked KAIA, enabling them to generate additional yields across various DeFi applications. The native token, LAIR, was officially listed on Gate.io and MEXC in April, marking a significant milestone in the project’s ecosystem development.

3.2 Promising Leading Projects to Watch

SavannaSurvival

SavannaSurvival is a one-of-a-kind game combining the best of auto-battler, edutainment and management genres. In collaboration with Kaia, it brings an immersive Web3 survival experience to the Mini Dapp ecosystem on LINE Dapp Portal. In this dynamic voxel-powered world, players will achieve ecological prosperity through deep exploration and strategic gameplay — survival is not merely an individual challenge, but a blockchain-enabled collaborative adventure.

SavannaSurvival combines Innovative ecosystems, decentralized ownership, and player-led economies, offering a seamless entry into the Web3 gaming space. To date, SavannaSurvival has attracted 4 million players on LINE Messenger.

Boxing Star X

Boxing Star X is a Web3 boxing game, bringing thrilling gameplay and innovative features to LINE’s Mini Dapp. With progression, characters, and gear upgrades, this game offers an immersive experience for both casual and seasoned players. In this groundbreaking mid-core game, players begin as street underdogs, master their skills, and ultimately compete for the championship belt.

DarkStar

DarkStar is a fun, cross-platform space game blending Web2 and Web3. It’s an airplane level-breaking game and very easy to get started — players can simply enjoy the adventures through battles, boss fights, auto-cruising and more, they can upgrade the spaceship to keep engaged.

The embedded real-time AI systems for dynamic gameplay, including AI-assisted missions and personalized strategies enable players to have unique experiences.

Captain Tsubasa

Captain Tsubasa is a casual game based on the popular soccer manga Captain Tsubasa. Captain Tsubasa -RIVALS- on LINE is a new version of the game tailored for the LINE ecosystem, following the success of Captain Tsubasa -RIVALS- on TON, which launched on Telegram in September 2024.

The Telegram version boasts over 5 million users and has received accolades, including selection at Binance’s BNB Chain pitch event. It has also collaborated with major Telegram Mini App titles like BLUM.

Slime Miner

Slime Miner is a Web3 idle RPG. Players will embark on a thrilling adventure with adorable and powerful slime heroes, digging deep into the Earth’s core to unearth rare minerals. Collect over 40 unique resources, combine hundreds of drill machines, and unlock rewards in special modes like Time Expedition, Invasion Defense, and Drill Grand Prix.

Fate War

Fate War is Kaia’s first Play & Earn RPG, where strategy meets adventure. The game introduces a multi-layered experience in which players compete in PvP battles, explore treasure-filled maps, and join guild wars to win KAIA and massive Fate Point rewards. With its Monopoly-style dice mechanics, engaging combat, and social interactions, Fate War delivers an exciting competitive gaming experience.

Kyuzo’s Friends

Kyuzo’s Friends is a groundbreaking social game featuring the beloved DNAxCAT IP, designed to bridge Web2 and Web3. Dive into an exciting world of map exploration, friend interactions, and unique NFT collections. Players can unlock rewards through fun social gameplay and participate in token staking for governance tokens. As one of the first Mini Dapps on LINE’s Dapp Portal, Kyuzo’s Friends aims to redefine social gaming and deliver an unforgettable experience.

The Kaia Mini Dapp Growth Competition has not only provided a platform for developers to showcase their creativity and technical prowess, but also significantly accelerated the incubation and deployment of high-quality Web3 projects. The standout projects that emerged from the competition highlight Kaia’s strong competitiveness in core sectors like gaming, while also signaling vast potential for Web3 applications across a broader range of verticals. With innovative gameplay and sustainable models, these projects have attracted widespread global participation and established diverse benchmarks for on-chain economies, social interaction, and community governance.

As more innovative projects continue to emerge and Kaia’s ecosystem infrastructure steadily matures, the network is well-positioned to solidify its leadership in the Web3 space. Looking ahead, Kaia will remain committed to driving Mini Dapp innovation and fostering community co-creation — working hand in hand with global developers and ecosystem partners to accelerate the shift of Web3 from early adopters to mainstream users. These Mini Dapps are more than just products; they represent the early building blocks of the future Web3 world.