Klaytn mainnet launch: The sun will never set on the GET Protocol
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By Kasper Keunen, blockchain developer at the GET Protocol Foundation.
“Kakao’s global public blockchain project Klaytn is an enterprise-grade, service-centric platform that brings user-friendly blockchain experience to millions.” — Klaytn.com
Several months ago we announced that the GET Protocol was one of the launching partners of GroundX’s Klaytn blockchain. On the 27th of June Klaytn(Korean Standard Time) will launch their mainnet. An exciting moment for sure!
How the GET Protocol will work on top of the Klaytn blockchain, will not be disclosed in this blog. Rest assured that details about this will be provided as soon as they are relevant. If actions are required from GET holders, instruction will be clearly communicated and the timeframe to act will be extensive (if not indefinite).
To summarize, until further notice, the GET Protocol remains running on the Ethereum blockchain as does its ERC20 token. As we are not rushing the migration process. We will await the Klaytn mainnet to stabilize before making permanent decisions.
Why we are choosing for Klaytn
Our choice for choosing to be an Initial Service Provider of Klaytn is based on two aspects. The first aspect is the fact that Klaytn’s blockchain infrastructure is fully business and integration focused, more than any other blockchain in the market. This results in huge improvements in areas as cost-efficiency, scalability, and data reliability. The second aspect is fueled by the potential of being part of the Klaytn ecosystem.
This blog will mainly expand on what exactly constitutes the Klaytn ecosystem and why it is especially interesting for the GET Protocol to join.
Recipes for adoption
Putting your tech in the hands of ends users requires more than having a code base available. You need a strategy to actually commercially roll out the solution.
Our tech
As a company active in the ticketing industry for over 3 years we have experienced that having an objectively more elegant and complete service, doesn’t mean you have the keys to the whole ticketing sector. It just doesn’t work that way, although GET Protocol is undoubtedly gaining prominence (with Itix and Audio Obscura additions being prime examples).
We realized soon that if we want to make bold and rapid moves in countries far beyond our ‘reach’, we would benefit from having a strong local partner. This partner would have to bring us deep market knowledge, access, and connections needed to gain traction and market share effectively.
Where traditional ticketing companies like Ticketmaster and Eventbite enter market this by company acquisition in a foreign market, GET uses a novel approach, by creating added value through organic network effects. Partnering up with Kakao’s Klaytn is a prime example.
Kakao’s network & reach
This partner we found in GroundX, a subsidiary of Korea’s Kakao Corp. In the following paragraphs, I will briefly elaborate on what the ‘Kakao/Klaytn ecosystem is and how we envision this ecosystem to support further GET growth and integration in the Korean peninsula.
More users, more room for synergy
Whereas gaining market share by simply buying it with brute force surely works (as proven by LiveNation), at GET we believe that in this day and age of connectivity and decentralization more opportunities for adding value lie in vertical integration, meaning that we believe that platforms allowing for different services to compliment each other drive more value than platforms or products that are about locking a user in completely (WeChatbeing an example of this value model).
It is this immersive and integrated ecosystem we see in Klaytn’s platform. While the vision is surely ambitious, Kakao’s track record and company portfolio are more than sufficient to back this up. The Klaytn blockchain makes this vertical integration possible as it is a scalable base-layer for asset, identity and content distribution.
In the next few paragraphs I will list a few of Kakao Corps achievements and from there will show that we have a fertile shared vision to build on.
Kakao Corp & the Klaytn business ecosystem
GroundX is a subsidiary of Kakao Corp, a large Korean conglomerate that is owner/shareholder in a wide array of prominent internet & media companies. All data listed below are all available for the public on Kakao Corps website.
Kakao is active in almost all internet & media verticals in Asia. Totaling more than 250 millions users spread over 50+ countries it is safe to say that this Korean company is a leader in building consumer-facing and innovative products.
Business focus
As Kakao controls a large number of large internet businesses, they set out to build a blockchain component that would be able to support actual real-world use of blockchain technology. As such Klaytn is specifically built to be a blockchain for economically scalable and 100% legal business models.
A shared vision of the future
Partnering with a company that is part of a larger conglomerate only really makes sense if there is a shared vision in how the future looks. As stated in one of the reports, Kakao aims to bring a portion of the companies in their portfolio together on the Klaytn blockchain. By joining this network the GET Protocol will also be able to tap into this network of collaborating companies and their users.
A peek in Kakao Corps portfolio
To give an idea of what is possible, I will list a few companies in Kakao Corps portfolio that have overlap in our ambitions.
- Crypto /Blockchain: GroundX -> The Klaytn blockchain.
- Kakao Chat/Talk-> Messaging app with more than 50 million active daily users.
- Melon Ticket -> Ticketing providing services for prominent K-pop stars and other events.
- Fintech/Crypto -> Exchanges like Upbit & Coinone.
- Kakao Game, Kakao Friends, Daum Portal -> Digital content, e-sports, gaming
- Kakao Music -> Music distribution, Fan engagement, artist management & event promotion
Focus on actual adoption and business use case
There is no shortage of high-performance blockchains with little to no actual users. Even if a blockchain has high amounts of traffic, generally this traffic then originates from applications in the ‘grey zone’ of the digital economy (like gambling, prediction markets & erotic content).
What is more, since the very start the team of Klaytn has shown tremendous support in stimulating growth in the Korean event market.
“Klaytn welcomes GET PROTOCOL’s active efforts in effectively adopting blockchain to not only address long-standing ticket scalping issues within the existing industry, but to also bring forth new business paradigms to further enhance the ticketing experience for global users. We are very excited to support GET PROTOCOL in establishing its strong foothold in Korean market.”
- Chase Choi, Head of Business Development at KLAYTN -
It is safe to say that this all-encompassing ecosystem of Klaytn & Kakao offers a wide array of possibilities for us to collaborate on. The future looks integrated! We are very excited for what is to come.
Product/market fit. The problem of ticket scalping in Korea
As most of the readers will be aware, one of the GET Protocols main USPs is the fact that we specialize in locking fan identity to ticket assets. The main added benefit of this feature is that it allows us to practically eradicate ticket scalping.
Due to the extreme popularity of Korea’s K-pop, ticket scalping is rampant in Korea. Combined with the high percentage of smartphone penetration in Korea, it is safe to say that Koreans are more than ready for honest and fair tickets!
As a testament for how big Kakao is in Korea, the ticket company mentioned in the article above is actually part Kakao Corp (Melon Ticket, based in Seoul). To get an idea of the type of events they service check out the feed below:
Important disclaimer
Klaytn, is launched by GroundX, a subsidiary of Kakao Corp. In no shape or form does this article directly imply that this status will surely result in integration or usage by any of the aforementioned Kakao Corp subsidiaries.
More about the GET Protocol
Any questions or want to know more about what we do? Join our active Telegram community for any questions you might have, read our whitepaper, visit the website, join the discussion on the GET Protocol Reddit. Or get yourself a smart event ticket in our sandbox environment. Download the GUTS Tickets app on iOS or Android.
