Kakao’s Klaytn to offer nonfungible tokens on OpenSea

Klaytn, the blockchain project of Korea’s Internet giant, Kakao, said on Monday that it has partnered with OpenSea, the fast-emerging marketplace for nonfungible tokens.

Klaytn, which is developed by Ground X, will begin to support Klaytn-based NFTs on OpenSea by the end of June.

OpenSea is the largest NFT marketplace for user-owned digital goods, which include collectibles, gaming items, domain names, digital art, and other assets backed by a blockchain. Unlike fungible cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum that can be traded in portion, NFTs contain identifying information recorded in their smart contracts and they cannot be directly replaced by another token. 

The announcement by Klaytn came amid surging interest in trading irreplaceable digital contents. According to OpenSea, transactions on the platform are growing fast and have exceeded $100 million in March after recording $95 million in February and $8 million in January. The NFT platform recently raised $23 million in investments in its latest round of fundraising led by the US venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

“The Klaytn support on OpenSea will provide our ecosystem with an opportunity to interact with a much wider audience, and we look forward to further exploring interesting digital assets on Klaytn,” said Jason Han, CEO of Ground X who heads the development of Klaytn.

“We believe that supporting the Klaytn blockchain and its growing NFT community empowers the blockchain space that can invite even mainstream audiences to experience Klaytn’s unique digital items and goods,” OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer added.

Klaytn users can sync their OpenSea accounts with Kaikas wallet, the web browser extension wallet that connects to the Klaytn network, and buy or sell NFTs with Klaytn’s token Klay. With the integration with OpenSea, Klaytn will become the second public blockchain platform, after ethereum, to be supported by the world’s foremost NFT platform. 

By Park Ga-young (gypark@heraldcorp.com)