1. The rise of TON
2024 is a shining year for TON. Multiple tokens of the TON ecosystem (such as NOT) have been launched on the mainstream exchange Binance. As the current TOP1 centralized exchange, Binance will bring a lot of new funds and a large number of users to this project and ecosystem every time a project is launched. The tokens of the TON ecosystem have been launched on Binance one after another, which not only brings higher market exposure to the TON ecosystem and tokens, but also directly promotes the growth of TON's trading volume.
We have captured the price changes of TON in 2024 above. At the beginning of this year, the price was around 2 US dollars. With the rise of the ecosystem, the price reached around 8 US dollars in the middle of the year. At the same time, the market value also ranked among the top ten in the world. It is currently stable at around 5 US dollars.
With the rise in TON's price attracting a large influx of funds, providing more financial and resource support for the ecosystem, we have also seen projects in this ecosystem, like NOT, launch on Binance like mushrooms after rain. We can see that this wave of growth in 2024 not only brings funds and users to TON but also creates excellent opportunities for its ecosystem development.
Two, the carrier of Kaia
We briefly reviewed TON in 2024 above, so what is the carrier of TON? Many people probably know it is Telegram, projects like NOT have developed their own projects using Telegram as a carrier, what about Kaia?
Indeed, it is LINE. Let's start with a brief introduction to LINE. LINE is a cross-platform instant messaging tool developed by NHN Japan, a subsidiary of South Korean company NAVER. Launched in June 2011, it was initially developed to address communication issues after the Great East Japan Earthquake. With a user-friendly interface and rich features, LINE quickly gained popularity in Japan and other Asian countries, and later expanded to the global market.
We have listed the comparisons between LINE and Telegram above. LINE's strengths lie in its 'super app' positioning, forming a rich profit model through the integration of payments, advertising, stickers, and other services, but its user base is mainly concentrated in Asia.
Three, investment institutions of Kaia
We can see that the investment institutions listed on rootdata are quite impressive. Some of you may not be very familiar with them, so let me introduce them briefly.
Hashed is a well-known blockchain investment institution in Korea, recognized for supporting early projects in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space. Hashed was established in 2017 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, with a branch in San Francisco. It is one of the most well-known blockchain investment institutions in Korea and all of Asia, holding significant influence in the Korean blockchain industry.
IDG Capital is a globally renowned investment institution focused on early-stage and growth-stage venture capital and private equity investments. It is known for its investment strategy of supporting innovative enterprises and multinational expansion, being one of the earliest investment firms to enter the high-tech field in China and globally. Founded in 1992, initially established by the International Data Group (IDG) in China, it later developed into an independently operated capital institution. IDG Capital manages assets exceeding $20 billion, with investment scope covering the globe.
Some say this organization doesn't look famous, why mention it? Indeed, at first glance, it only invested in Kaia and LINE, but if we take a closer look at the investor of this organization, Peter Thiel.
Peter Thiel is a legendary figure known for his profound influence in the tech sector and unconventional investment philosophy. He is not only a founder or early investor in several tech giants but is also known for his unique insights and bold decision-making style. Thiel is also an early advocate of Bitcoin, and his statements and investment strategies have had a profound impact on the blockchain industry.
In 1998, Peter Thiel co-founded PayPal with Max Levchin and Elon Musk (later acquired by eBay), and Thiel and the team members are referred to as the 'PayPal Mafia' because they later founded many top companies in the tech sector (such as YouTube, LinkedIn, SpaceX, etc.).
In 2004, Thiel became the first outside investor in Facebook, exchanging $500,000 for 10.2% of the company's shares, making this investment one of the most successful venture capital investments in history, with his share value increasing tens of times after Facebook's IPO.
In 2005, he founded Founders Fund, a well-known venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, with a portfolio including several tech giants such as SpaceX, Airbnb, Stripe, etc.
Four, the origin of Kaia
Kaia is a new generation high-performance blockchain platform formed by merging Klaytn and Finschia, developed by South Korea's two tech giants, Kakao and LINE. Kaia focuses on extremely low transaction latency, high efficiency in block confirmation, and a smooth user experience, providing strong support for the development of decentralized applications (DApps) and user interaction.
Klaytn was launched in 2019 by Ground X, the blockchain subsidiary of South Korean tech giant Kakao, initially focusing on blockchain solutions for enterprises and consumers, having launched several successful business projects, such as KakaoTalk's digital wallet service.
Finschia was launched in 2020 by LINE's blockchain subsidiary LINE Blockchain Lab, mainly providing a decentralized application environment and achieving large-scale user coverage through the LINE app, serving LINE's social and payment ecosystem.
Technical characteristics of Kaia
One-second block time and instant finality: Kaia's blockchain network has a block generation time of 1 second, significantly lower than most EVM L1 blockchains (like Ethereum's roughly 12 seconds). Instant finality: Once a transaction is packed and confirmed, it is considered irreversible, eliminating delays from multiple confirmations.
Low transaction latency: Achieved a smooth user experience through an efficient consensus mechanism and blockchain architecture.
Compatibility and cross-chain support: Supports smart contracts of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), making it easier for developers to port existing DApps and contract code, provides cross-chain communication capabilities, allowing assets and data to flow between different blockchains, enhancing the interoperability of the ecosystem.
Use cases and application scenarios
Gaming and entertainment: Kaia's low latency and instant finality provide a seamless gaming experience for blockchain games, such as in-game asset trading and reward distribution, supporting quick generation and trading of NFTs, reducing user wait times.
Payments: Kaia can provide technical support for payment scenarios that require quick settlement, and its high performance and compatibility help build efficient decentralized financial protocols.
Social: With LINE and Kakao ecosystem integration, Kaia can achieve seamless management and transfer of blockchain assets through social applications, attracting hundreds of millions of users.
WEB3: Kaia's performance advantages pave the way for the popularization of Web3 projects, providing strong support from identity management to decentralized storage.
MASS ADOPTION
LINE will officially integrate the Dapp entry @dapp_portal into the App by the end of January 2025, serving as a traffic entry for Web2 users to transition to Web3, having already released the first batch of 20 potential Dapps, most of which are game-related Dapps, from which we can look for potential projects like the next NOT.
Five, the difficulty of airdrops
Since LINE and Telegram are similar, let's compare the two.
1. User base and account management
Pain point analysis
Kaia: The restrictions on phone number binding are stricter, and the cost of using multiple numbers for airdrops is relatively high, especially for non-Asian users.
Telegram: Creating multiple accounts is relatively easy, but a large number of virtual numbers are gradually being identified and banned, limiting the efficiency of airdrops.
2. Mechanisms to prevent abuse
Pain point analysis
Kaia: Highly dependent on LINE and Kakao's ecosystem data, which may prevent abuse through user behavior analysis. For airdrop seekers, Kaia's KYC or behavioral verification may impose a higher threshold.
Telegram: The verification mechanism relies more on specific airdrop projects, giving users a certain degree of freedom, but the use of virtual numbers increases the risk of account bans.
3. Technical and operational difficulty
Pain point analysis
Kaia: Insufficient tool support, relying more on manual operations for airdrops, which is low in efficiency and time-consuming.
Telegram: Tools and scripts are abundant, but excessive automation may trigger account bans.
4. Characteristics and thresholds of airdrop activities
Pain point analysis
Kaia: Possibly due to KYC requirements and ecosystem binding leading to higher thresholds, but the returns may be of higher quality.
Telegram: The entry threshold is low, but the returns from using multiple accounts for airdrops may be diluted by virtual numbers or low-quality projects.
5. Project's anti-abuse strategies
Six, how to layout
If we really talk about how to layout, I think the best option is to invest in Kaia's coin, which is currently available on exchanges like Binance.
So what if you are positioned in the airdrop-related area?
Share Kaia's tutorials, ecosystem introductions, or technical interpretations to attract more attention, communicate more with project parties, and strive to become ambassadors and administrators.
Track upcoming DApps and partners in the Kaia ecosystem, especially NFT, DeFi, and gaming projects, and prioritize participation in official ecosystem support programs such as testnet incentives, developer programs, and early project token pre-sales.
If you are a technical person, you might consider participating in node deployment and staking-related matters to earn rewards, while keeping in touch with the project parties to stay informed about the latest developments.
If you want to use multiple accounts for airdrops, there isn't a better way to conduct multiple airdrops at this stage, as currently, LINE still primarily uses physical cards, which generally incurs higher costs. I will continue to observe for better methods.
