Kakao’s Klaytn joins with Terra digital money

Kakao announced Wednesday that its Klaytn blockchain platform has partnered with Terra to facilitate digital currency payments on Asian online shopping platforms.

Terra was co-founded this January by Daniel Shin, who is also the founder and chairman of TMON, one of Korea’s leading online shopping platforms.

Terra is developing a digital currency payment system for online shopping and has already established several partnerships for the implementation of its technology. The company raised $32 million in a seed round of funding in August.

Its partners include TMON, food delivery app Baedal Minjok, hotel and motel booking app Yanolja, Singapore second-hand marketplace Carousell and e-commerce platform Qoo10, also from Singapore. Terra’s partners have a combined total of 40 million consumers and an annual transaction volume of 28 trillion won ($24.7 billion).

Terra says it has developed a digital currency, also called Terra, that is characterized by price stability maintained through an algorithmic expansion and contraction of supply. The company claims that its token is more stable than others in the digital market.

The Kakao partnership will enable Terra to use Klaytn’s blockchain platform to build its digital currency payment processing service. The two companies will work together to improve Terra’s speed, security and reliability.

Ground X, Kakao’s blockchain subsidiary, began offering the Klaytn blockchain platform on a test basis to selected partners starting in October. Klaytn’s goal is to create a blockchain system on which developers can build large-scale applications and services for mass adoption.

Kakao is set to make the main Klaytn platform available early next year.

“Working with Terra, which is already partnered with leading e-commerce firms around the world, will help Klaytn cement its position as a blockchain platform for large-scale services,” said Han Jae-sun, chief executive of Ground X. “We will continue to build a blockchain ecosystem that supports services like Terra’s that require speed and security.”

“I expect the cooperation of Klaytn and Terra will make our digital currency a safe and useful tool,” said Shin. “Speed, security and reliability are the key considerations for blockchain-based payment processors. Terra will work together with Klaytn to provide a service that consumers can use easily and benefit from.”

BY KIM EUN-JIN [kim.eunjin1@joongang.co.kr]