LINE Launches “Mini Dapp” and Embarks on Breaking Barriers
In early 2025, LINE NEXT, a subsidiary of LINE dedicated to developing the Web3 ecosystem, officially announced the global release of multiple Mini Dapp for its users.
Dapp, short for “Decentralized Applications,” represents applications built on top of blockchain. The initial wave of Mini Dapp released by LINE focuses on games, which can be accessed directly through the LINE app without the need for separate downloads.
What’s more, all LINE users can receive rewards issued by each application (game) through the built-in encrypted wallet, and they can also trade encrypted assets. The biggest challenge in the field of blockchain or Web3 has always been breaking barriers. People who are not familiar with it hardly have any contact with this field throughout their lives. With this move, LINE has instantly enabled its users in markets such as Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia to seamlessly enter the world of Web3.
The driving force behind LINE Mini Dapp is the blockchain ecosystem “Kaia.” John Cho, Vice President of Marketing at the Kaia Foundation, stated that LINE has approximately 1 billion registered users worldwide, with about 200 million monthly active users. In addition to the large user base, these users also have high purchasing power, especially in their love for purchasing LINE stickers and in-game items. This means that there is great potential in the gaming Web3 application.
LINE’s subsidiary LINE NEXT has officially announced the global release of multiple Mini Dapp and the Dapp Portal service.
This is why Mini Dapp focuses on gaming applications in its initial release. Apart from being entertaining, the most eye-catching aspect is the reward mechanism built on the blockchain.
By turning rewards into digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, they can circulate across platforms on the same blockchain, providing greater freedom of use and avoiding the restrictions of centralized management. For example, users can freely trade and buy/sell tokens, and even if the platform ceases to exist, the cryptocurrencies can still circulate on the blockchain without disappearing.
Furthermore, John Cho also emphasized, “The key to popularizing Web3 is to make the experience intuitive and seamless.” These Mini Dapp are embedded directly within the LINE app, integrating built-in wallets, cryptocurrency exchanges, and potentially adding fiat currency value in the future. This allows users to access Web3 applications without the need to understand complex technical details or download separate apps.
In the future, LINE plans to expand Mini Dapp to social, e-commerce, and trading fields. According to official statements, the goal is to launch over 1,000 projects by 2025.
John Cho, Vice President of Marketing at the Kaia Foundation.
The Origin and Development of the Kaia Ecosystem
Although LINE Mini Dapp was only launched in 2025, Kaia is not a newcomer to the blockchain industry.
Kaia was formed through the merger of Klaytn and Finschia, two blockchain platforms developed by Kakao, the South Korean communication software giant, and LINE, the Japanese messaging app. Therefore, Kaia carries the DNA of these two major technology companies.
John Cho explained, “Klaytn and Finschia were both launched in 2019 but had different focuses. Klaytn is a public chain, while Finschia was initially a private chain primarily used for LINE’s Web3 products and services.”
A public chain represents an open and decentralized blockchain, where anyone can participate and verify transactions. Ethereum and Bitcoin are examples of this type. On the other hand, a private chain is controlled by specific organizations, and only authorized members can operate it. It is usually used for internal corporate applications.
Finschia was initially a private chain due to Japan’s conservative cryptocurrency regulations in 2019. As LINE is a publicly traded company in Japan, it chose to operate its Web3 business in a more low-key manner. Therefore, the chain was used solely to support LINE’s products and services.
By the end of 2023, LINE decided to convert the private chain into a public chain. However, John Cho explained that the competition in the blockchain market became more intense after 2023, especially with the rise of Layer 2 solutions, making it more challenging to operate a public chain independently. Although LINE is proficient in Web3 product development, it has limited experience in maintaining a public chain.
Layer2: A network built on top of the first-layer blockchain (such as Ethereum) that uses related technologies to accelerate transaction speed and processing capacity. It solves transactions and computations on another chain, reducing the burden on the mainnet of the first layer.
In contrast, Klaytn already had several years of experience in operating a public chain. Considering their past collaboration, the two sides proposed the merger to their respective foundation members, resulting in the birth of Kaia.
“After the merger, we can confidently position ourselves as the leading blockchain ecosystem in Asia,” said John Cho.
Following the establishment of Kaia, it quickly invested in the infrastructure development of LINE Mini Dapp. The Kaia Foundation is the main organization responsible for constructing, operating, and maintaining the Kaia ecosystem as a non-profit entity.
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11 December 2024 (Wednesday)
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⏰ 7:00 PM -…pic.twitter.com/RTesti3SWg— Kaia (prev. Klaytn & Finschia) (@KaiaChain)December 9, 2024
Do Super Apps Need Web3?
After venturing into games, LINE Mini Dapp plans to expand into social, e-commerce, trading, and other domains, aiming to become a comprehensive “super app.” When it comes to apps that integrate various daily life applications, WeChat, the Chinese messaging app, is already a successful example.
However, WeChat has achieved such success without adopting Web3 mechanisms. So why is LINE investing significant effort and resources into this?
John Cho believes that from the perspectives of UX/UI and business models, WeChat’s Mini Programs have indeed been successful. However, LINE aims to provide more unique value specific to Web3.
“LINE needs to compete with platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube to ensure user retention. Therefore, it must find new ways to keep users engaged,” stated John Cho. As the market becomes more competitive, users will start looking for more valuable experiences.
The key lies in the blockchain’s ability to provide “rewards” with currency value through tokenization, which motivates users to use Mini Dapps in the long term. However, John Cho admitted that for a long time, blockchain products have been driven by technology rather than starting from “user demand.” This has resulted in many applications failing to enter the mainstream market. However, Kaia’s strategy is to break free from this pattern. “Our goal is to make it easy for Web2 users to transition to Web3 without requiring them to learn new technologies or change their usage habits. This is the biggest difference between Kaia and other blockchain ecosystems.”