LINE reveals dApps and digital token plans

Japanese social messaging giant LINE is set to launch five new decentralised apps (dApps) along with its own digital token LINK (for markets outside Japan, excluding the US) from the Bitbox exchange starting 16^th October. Further details here.

In August, we reported that LINE had become one of the largest and most established firms in the world to develop and issue its own cryptocurrency. The company said it would gradually issue a total of one billion LINK tokens. Eight hundred million of those will be allocated for user rewards, and the remaining 200 million will be managed as a reserve by LINE Tech Plus, the issuer of the token.

LINK Chain

LINE has also launched its first blockchain network called LINK Chain. The token and the underlying technology LINK Chain were both independently developed by the company.

“Unlike other cryptocurrencies or digital tokens, we will not make an initial coin offering (ICO), but instead utilise a reward system that gives users LINK as compensation for using certain services within the LINE ecosystem,” it said.

Users who have participated in one of the dApps related to the token will receive LINK as an incentive. The cryptocurrency can then be utilised as payment or rewards within the dApp services that LINE is gearing up to launch. LINK can also be used for “service categories like contents, commerce, social, gaming, exchange and more within the LINE ecosystem”.

LINK Chain is a service-oriented blockchain network that enables dApps to be directly applied to the LINE messaging platform. LINE says it has resolved stability and wait times issues associated with most decentralised blockchains.

“Over the last seven years, we were able to grow into a global service because of our users, and now with LINK, we wanted to build a user-friendly reward system that gives back to our users,” said LINE CEO Takeshi Idezawa.