Facebook and Telegram Rival Line to Bring its Token to 82 Million Users

Line, one of Asia’s biggest chat apps, is set to debut its own digital token in Japan on Bitmax, its own crypto exchange.

Per a number of Japanese media outlets, including Coin Post, the company made its announcement via its blockchain and cryptocurrency subsidiary LVC – and is aiming for a rollout in April this year.

The Link token first saw the light of day in 2018 when it was listed by a Singapore-based affiliate company, and has been made available on Line-run cryptocurrency exchanges elsewhere in Asia.

However, Line has been particularly eager to distribute the token in Japan, where it claims to have 82 million active daily users. Moreover, the company last year won a license to operate Bitmax in the country from the regulatory Financial Securities Agency, and has already integrated it with its chat app interface.

The company is hoping to integrate Link with its chat app operations – and could look to distribute the token in rewards programs aligned with its Line chat app operations.

Bitmax currently handles five major cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ethereum.

The company was founded by South Korean web giant Naver, which owns a 73% stake in Line.

Another South Korean chat app, KakaoTalk (owned by the Kakao Group) has also talked of listing its Klay token on Asian crypto exchanges.

Analysts have claimed Line and Kakao are already a step ahead of the likes of Facebook and Telegram – rival social media platforms whose own token launch plans have hit regulatory hurdles in Europe and North America.

Meanwhile, Naver finalized a deal in December to merge Line with SoftBank’s internet subsidiary Yahoo Japan to create a USD 30 billion tech giant that could better compete with global internet behemoths.

As reported by Cryptonews.com in November 2019, this merger could create one of the biggest internet companies in Asia, while both parties have considerable cryptocurrency and blockchain interests.