Klaytn, Finschia blockchains merge, with new foundation to form in Abu Dhabi

The blockchains have their origins in Japanese and South Korean messaging systems, but they are looking to become Asia’s biggest Web3 ecosystem.

The Klaytn and Finschia blockchains will merge following overwhelming support for the measure from governance members. The blockchains’ foundations plan to launch an integrated mainnet that will be Asia’s biggest Web3 ecosystem, they claim. 

Governance members of South Korea-based Klaytn passed the merger proposal, with 90% of members voting in favor. At the Abu Dhabi-based Finschia, support reached 95%. The foundations will now set up a joint task committee to merge the chains and the foundations in the second quarter of the year. The transition is being called Project Dragon.

The merger was proposed in January and was rejected by 99% in its first vote later that month. A new version of the proposal was introduced on Feb. 5.

The integrated foundation will be based in Abu Dhabi and have an equal number of directors from both current chains. The new network will form a large ecosystem:

“Inheriting LINE and Kakao messenger-based Web3 assets, creating a potential user pool of over 250 million web3 users in Asia, 420+ DApps, 45+ governance partners, and 450+ Web3 resources.”

Governance members include Kakao, Binance and Quantstamp from the Klaytn side and SoftBank and CertiK from Finschia.

Related: 1inch plugs into Klaytn as Asia continues to climb aboard

The new chain will be compatible with both Ethereum and Cosmos. The KLAY and FNSA coins will be replaced by a single new coin. Klaytn described its future direction:

“The foundation plans to work on […] infrastructure development to enhance accessibility for institutional investors, cooperating with diverse partners, and launching native stable coins to drive innovation in Asia’s blockchain industry.”

Klaytn was launched in 2019 by the South Korean messaging service and internet company Kakao. LG was an early user.

Congratulations to the @Klaytn and @Finschia foundations and communities for successfully passing the mainnet merge proposals!

With the establishment of Project Dragon , NEOPIN aims to be the No. 1 DeFi protocol in the Project Dragon ecosystem and is committed to… https://t.co/aKXHfsWNcP

— NEOPIN (@NeopinOfficial) February 15, 2024

Finschia was established by the Japanese social media company Line in 2018 and was known as the Link blockchain. It changed its name to Line in 2020 and to Finschia in April 2023, when the Finschia Foundation was set up in Abu Dhabi. It announced “plans to gradually transition its governance system into a consortium structure for decentralization” at the same time.