In a bid to expand its offerings and tap into the growing trend of blockchain integration, the popular Asian messaging app Line has announced plans to introduce a suite of mini decentralized applications (dapps) on its platform early next year. This move comes on the heels of renewed interest in blockchain functionality among social media giants, sparked by the success of Web3 games on Telegram.
Line’s Blockchain Ambitions: 30 Mini Dapps at Launch
According to Sam Seo, chairman of the Kaia DLT Foundation, whose blockchain will host the applications, Line is set to debut with an impressive 30 mini dapps upon launch in January 2024. The company aims to expand this offering to 150 dapps by the end of the first quarter, bringing a wide range of blockchain-powered services to its 196 million active users across Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia.
Seo revealed in an interview that the majority of these mini dapps will be games, with others focused on social interaction, decentralized finance (DeFi), and AI-powered chatbots. This diverse array of offerings is designed to cater to the varied interests of Line’s user base while showcasing the potential of blockchain technology.
Building on the Popularity of In-App Utilities
Line’s foray into mini dapps builds upon the success of utility functions integrated into popular apps like WeChat. By offering a range of practical and entertaining blockchain-based services directly within the messaging platform, Line aims to provide a seamless and engaging user experience.
The move to dapps comes after the relative failure of earlier blockchain experiments with NFT functionality.
Industry Insider
This shift in focus from NFTs to mini dapps reflects the industry’s realization that user experience and interface are crucial factors in the adoption of blockchain technology. Line’s Sam Seo acknowledged this, stating:
NFTs are too complicated for normal users. The ideas were good, but I think we needed to improve the UX and UI. Previously, users and creators were looking at NFTs just as an investment tool rather than a tool for ownership. I think that was a kind of mismatch between the intention and the result.
Sam Seo, Chairman of Kaia DLT Foundation
Lessons Learned from Social Media’s NFT Experiments
Line’s move to mini dapps comes after mixed results from social media platforms’ experiments with NFT functionality. In March 2023, Instagram disabled the NFT features it had introduced the previous year, which allowed users to share NFTs they created or bought. Similarly, while Reddit’s Digital Collectibles still exist, the platform removed Collectible Expressions, which were used to animate them, in July 2023.
Line itself had previously ventured into the NFT space, launching an NFT marketplace in Japan in April 2022 and introducing its own-brand NFT stickers. However, the company now recognizes that a more user-friendly approach is needed to drive mainstream adoption of blockchain technology.
The Future of Blockchain Integration in Messaging Apps
As Line prepares to launch its mini dapps, the industry will be watching closely to see if this new approach to blockchain integration proves more successful than previous attempts. With a focus on user experience, practicality, and entertainment value, Line’s move could potentially pave the way for wider adoption of blockchain technology within messaging apps and social media platforms.
The success of Line’s mini dapps could also inspire other major players in the space to explore similar integrations, leading to a more diverse and dynamic ecosystem of blockchain-powered services within our everyday communication tools.
As the worlds of messaging, social media, and blockchain continue to converge, it remains to be seen how users will respond to this new wave of mini dapps. However, one thing is certain: the landscape of online communication is evolving, and Line’s bold move into the realm of blockchain-powered services is sure to be a significant milestone in this ongoing transformation.
