Kaia: What Happens When LINE and Kakao Merge into One Blockchain

Launched in August 2024, Kaia is a next-generation Layer 1 blockchain formed through the consolidation of two established networks: Klaytn, backed by South Korea’s Kakao, and Finschia, developed by Japan’s LY Corporation (formerly LINE).

Since 2018–2019, both chains have cultivated independent ecosystems and leveraged deep integrations with KakaoTalk and LINE—messaging platforms that serve tens of millions of users across Asia.

The merge? It started with the communities. In January 2024, a joint proposal was floated—and by February, more than 90% of validators across both chains backed it.

That’s how Kaia came to be: a bold new blockchain looking to take the lead in Asia’s fast-moving Web3 space.

Check this out: Review of the blockchain project Klaytn (KLAY)

Kaia’s Web3 Strategy: Messaging Integration Inspired by TON

Kaia is often compared to The Open Network (TON)—and rightly so. Its approach to blockchain adoption doesn’t begin at the protocol layer, but at the interface users already engage with daily: messaging apps.

In 2024, TON emerged as a model of integrated UX, gaining attention by embedding blockchain into Telegram with zero onboarding friction—no separate wallets or seed phrases.

That usability-first design set a new standard for Web3 accessibility.

Kaia has adopted a similar strategy to TON but broadened its scope significantly—integrating with both KakaoTalk and LINE to tap into a combined user base approaching 300 million across Asia.

With culturally distinct markets such as South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, and Indonesia, Kaia’s strength lies in leveraging everyday communication tools as intuitive Web3 access points.

Related: The Open Network: A Deep Dive into the TON Blockchain

Kaia’s approach flips the script: instead of building a blockchain and waiting for users, it integrates directly into everyday routines.

• Mini-apps inside messaging platforms;
• Authentication via existing accounts;
• Transaction fees optionally covered for users. 

No technical hoops. No conceptual leaps.

This is Web3 as it should be—not a product to be pitched, but an infrastructure quietly embedded into the interfaces we use without thinking. That’s not just strategy. That’s inevitability.

Kaia Blockchain Architecture Explained: Why Three Layers Matter?

Blockchain speed isn’t just about high TPS. True efficiency depends on how the network is architected—whether its components help or hinder each other.

Kaia uses a three-layer architecture to avoid internal bottlenecks. Each layer is specialized, performing a distinct function without overloading the system. This modular design allows Kaia to deliver both scalability and stability across its ecosystem.

• Core Cell Network (CCN) 

At the system’s core lies the CCN—a validator-driven engine that verifies transactions, compiles them into blocks, and manages their propagation across the chain. Designed for operational resilience and performance, CCN ensures seamless consensus.

• Endpoint Node Network (ENN) 

Serving as the protocol’s access layer, ENN facilitates integration with external systems. It routes API calls, manages service chain interactions, and forms the connective tissue between Kaia’s core infrastructure and decentralized applications.

• Service Chain Network (SCN) 

SCN is a modular layer designed to host decentralized applications on independent service chains. This architecture prevents performance degradation on the core layer and enables horizontal scaling—more apps, same throughput.

Kaia leverages a tailored variant of the Istanbul Byzantine Fault Tolerance (IBFT) consensus protocol, optimized for operational efficiency: 

• Instead of assigning block proposers randomly, Kaia employs a verifiable random function (VRF), ensuring unpredictable but provable selection.
• Each block triggers the formation of a new committee.
• A single node proposes a block; consensus is reached once two-thirds of committee members validate it. 

The finality of each block is achieved in approximately one second.

Developer interoperability is a core priority. Kaia Virtual Machine (KVM) maintains functional parity with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), enabling Solidity-based contracts to migrate with near-zero refactoring.

Ecosystem toolchain compatibility includes: 

• Remix, 
• Hardhat, 
• Foundry. 

This approach eliminates a critical adoption barrier: developers can onboard without retraining or retooling.

The result is a platform that offers both operational efficiency and development ease—ensuring scalability for users and seamless integration for ecosystem partners.

Insights for Web3 Devs: Top Tools for Blockchain Development

Kaia Tokenomics Explained: KAIA Token, Inflation, and Economic Model

Kaia uses a single utility token—KAIA—which supports all core functions: transaction fees, staking, governance, and reward distribution. While it follows the standard Layer 1 structure, Kaia introduces several dynamic elements to promote sustainable growth.

KAIA is minted with each block. Initial inflation is set at 5.2% annually, and there’s no hard supply cap. However, the system balances issuance through multiple burn mechanisms: gas fees, MEV rewards, and contributions to ecosystem funds are all partially burned to control inflation and maintain token value.

Kaia allocates 50% of each block reward to validators and delegators—participants who keep the network stable and secure. This aligns with standard PoS incentives: active participation brings higher returns.

The remaining 50% is strategically reinvested:

• 25% to the Ecosystem Fund (KEF), designated for developer incentives, dApp growth, and third-party tooling.

• 25% to the Infrastructure Fund (KIF), focused on technical robustness, security upgrades, and scaling protocols.

So Kaia’s tokenomics aren’t just about handing out rewards—they’re designed to keep value cycling back into the network.

Key Crypto Terms: What is tokenomics and how to analyze it?

Decentralization, the Kaia Way

Kaia enables token-based governance wherein voting rights are proportional to staked KAIA. A maximum voting cap is enforced to mitigate the risk of decision-making monopolies.

The protocol supports delegation, allowing stakeholders to assign their voting power to trusted third parties if they prefer not to participate directly.

Governance is currently coordinated by the Kaia Governance Council, a consortium of verified entities. The governance model is scheduled to transition toward a DAO structure with open delegate elections and broader community integration.

Related: What Are Investment DAOs and How Do They Work?

Why Kaia’s UX Is Built Differently

It’s easy to forget: most users never see the technology—they only feel it. And in Kaia, that feeling is shaped by thoughtful design under the hood.

• One elegant feature? Fee delegation

Senders can delegate gas fees entirely to recipients or choose a partial split. This is particularly relevant for B2C platforms, where providers can absorb fees to ensure a smoother user flow and higher transaction completion rates.

• Another Kaia win: Multi-key accounts

On Ethereum, one key equals one address—period. Kaia changes that. You can link multiple keys to one account and assign each a different role.

Think of it like built-in multisig, but more intuitive. One key for signing, one for admin, one just for smart contracts. It’s way safer—especially for teams or DAOs that need smart access controls without the complexity of external tools.

KAIA serves as more than a medium of exchange. It is a multifunctional asset underpinning governance, incentive structures, protocol security, and user interaction.

This integrated utility model is designed to promote active usage over passive speculation—driving long-term ecosystem engagement and value realization.

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Kaia Ecosystem Status: From Vision to Execution

Cool tech is great—but if no one’s building on it, it’s just empty hype.

That’s not the case with Kaia. According to the team, the ecosystem’s already growing in multiple directions. And we’re not talking promises—real integrations are already live.

A core pillar of Kaia’s ecosystem expansion lies in DeFi. Kaia now supports full integration with 1inch, a decentralized liquidity aggregator known for optimizing token swap efficiency and pricing.

With block finality achieved in one second, Kaia delivers near real-time execution—critical in high-frequency trading environments where latency can result in slippage and diminished value capture.

Kaia doesn’t just scale speed—it scales economics. With fees roughly ten times lower than Ethereum, it invites developers to rethink what’s possible.

From complex on-chain automation to mainstream products built on micropayments, Kaia ensures transaction costs never outweigh the utility of the transaction itself. That’s where real adoption begins.

Where NFTs and Gaming Finally Meet Performance

NFTs and games on-chain? We’ve heard it before. But Kaia makes it work. Token platforms are already live. AAA games are rolling out with true digital ownership embedded into their economies.

The real difference? It doesn’t lag. It doesn’t cost a fortune to move your assets. On Kaia, this vision becomes playable—literally.

Messenger-based onboarding creates native access points for NFT interactions within established user environments: 

• Buy a sticker, and it's not just yours—it’s a token.
• Collect a card in-game, and it’s stored forever on-chain.

It’s clean, easy, and exactly how next-gen UX should work—no weird wallets, no extra steps.

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RWAs on Kaia: Real Assets, Real Utility

Kaia’s pushing tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) forward—think property, financial products, and more, all made digital.

If you’re building something that connects to the real economy, you need fast execution, scalability, and security that holds up under pressure. Kaia checks all the boxes. And with LINE and Kakao already onboard, you’re not just building—you’re launching into a ready-made user base.

Data Infrastructure and Analytics Integration

Want to see what’s happening on Kaia—right now? Thanks to Dune, you can. From transactions to DeFi pools to how users move across the chain, it’s all live and trackable.

And for devs, that means real tools. Whether you're building, debugging, or pitching investors, transparency isn’t an afterthought—it’s built in.

Useful Instruments: Dune: Your Ultimate Analytical Resource Guide

To enhance its decentralized identity layer, Kaia has partnered with CARV, a protocol offering robust infrastructure for ID management and behavioral data.

The integration supports scalable Web3 identity solutions, including verified access, reputation tracking, and dApp onboarding without the need for legacy authentication methods.

No ecosystem thrives without solid groundwork. For Kaia, that means shipping the basics—refined:

• Kaia Wallet enables advanced multi-key account management within a browser environment.
• Kaia Safe is a native multi-signature solution tailored for DAOs, operational teams, and asset custodians.
• Kaiascope and Kaiascan serve as dual block explorers—optimized respectively for data depth and access speed.

Collectively, these tools provide essential infrastructure for users and developers, addressing critical needs in access control, visibility, and operational safety.

Kaia doesn’t feel like an empty sandbox waiting for ideas to land. It’s a functioning ecosystem—alive, accessible, and ready for builders.

Here, you can prototype, launch, and iterate in real time. No need to leap through technical hoops. Whether through a messenger interface or a streamlined UI, Kaia removes the friction between concept and execution.

Kaia: Infrastructure, Reach, and Market Positioning

Kaia operates at the intersection of capability and delivery, leveraging:

• substantial development resources,
• modular, production-grade architecture,
• and embedded distribution through LINE and Kakao, the dominant messengers in Asia.

The project’s strategic edge lies not solely in its speed or scalability, but in its ability to normalize Web3 usage within widely adopted digital ecosystems.

Let’s be real—it’s not a done deal yet: 

• TVL is growing slowly,
• dApp migration from Finschia isn’t finished,
• and the real race with TON hasn’t even kicked off.

Still, Kaia’s packed with potential. It’s got the tech, the partners, and a ready-made user base thanks to LINE and Kakao.

Now it just has to do the hard part: turn that into results.