Kakao’s Blockchain Arm Ground X Managed To Earn $90 Million in Private Token Sale

The blockchain subsidiary of South Korean messaging giant Kakao, Ground X minces $90 million in a private coin offering. Reportedly, the firm is planning to raise “a similar sum” in another round starting Tuesday, before its launch its blockchain platform in June.

As per a report by Bloomberg on Monday, Jason Han, Ground X CEO told that IDG Capital, Cresendo Equity Partners and Translink Capital had participated in the round.

Ground X

In March 2018, Kakao revealed its initial plan to set up a blockchain subsidiary. Soon after that, they launched Ground X to develop a blockchain-powered platform as a foundation for application developers. The top execs of the company elaborated at the time that the plan was to integrate future blockchain-based services with Kakao’s existing internet offerings, in the likes of Kakao Talk messaging app.

Ground X launched Klaytn, a test network (or testnet) for its proprietary blockchain network last year. Notably, it has already collaborated with 26 companies that are planning to run their apps on Klaytn, including South Korean video game developer Wemade and video streaming platform Watcha, as well as a unit of Chinese travel agency Zanadu.

The firm further stated that it will work with the Seoul Digital Foundation, an organization created by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in order to develop blockchain projects focusing on social and public services. Han told CoinDesk Korea last year that Ground X could be summed up as “partial or gradual decentralization. ” He added:

“The token economy is a business model that no one could have imagined before. Until now, Kakao has only operated in Korea, but through blockchain we could expand into the global market. That means taking a portion of the profits we earn as an intermediary and using it to expand our market by sharing it with users.”