Coin columns · Mainnet Province
Kaia (KAIA): The Merged Chain of Kakao’s Klaytn and LINE’s Finschia
An Asian EVM mainnet for messenger users, launched in 2024
Kaia is a mainnet launched in August 2024 by merging Klaytn, the blockchain created by South Korea’s Kakao, with Finschia, the blockchain of the LINE messenger popular in Japan, Taiwan and Thailand. Its own coin is KAIA.
1. Two messenger blockchains combine
Klaytn was launched in June 2019 by Ground X, Kakao’s blockchain subsidiary, and was known for validator nodes run by large companies. Finschia descends from the blockchain LINE launched around 2018, originally called LINK. In early 2024 the two foundations proposed a merger, which governance votes on both sides approved.
Kaia went live on 29 August 2024 as an upgrade of the Klaytn chain. KLAY converted one-for-one into KAIA and Finschia’s FNSA at a fixed exchange rate, and the Kaia DLT Foundation, based in Abu Dhabi, runs the network. On the Crypto Nation map, KAIA is the city-hall tower at the centre of the Kaia neighbourhood in the Mainnet Province, because it is the chain’s own coin.
2. How it works
Kaia is EVM-compatible, running Ethereum-style smart contracts, so apps and tools built for Ethereum can move over with few changes. Blocks arrive about every second, and it promises ‘immediate finality’: once confirmed, a block cannot be reversed, which suits payments where waiting must be short.
Blocks are produced with a Byzantine fault tolerant (BFT) consensus algorithm, which keeps agreement even if some nodes misbehave, and validator nodes are run mainly by companies and institutions on its Governance Council. KAIA pays transaction fees and can be staked with validators for rewards or used in governance votes. The foundation has said it plans to open validation more widely over time.
3. Uses and milestones
Kaia’s main asset is messaging. In January 2025 ‘Mini Dapps’, blockchain apps used directly inside the LINE messenger, launched along with a portal collecting them, and games and reward apps began serving LINE users. Using apps inside the messenger without installing a separate wallet is meant to lower the barrier for newcomers.
Kaia has promoted stablecoin payments and remittances as key uses in Asian markets. It inherits a strong Korean user base from the Klaytn era and is listed on major Korean exchanges, and it aims to link messenger users in Korea, Japan and South-East Asia.
4. Things to know
Because a limited group of companies and institutions run validator nodes, Kaia is considered more centralised than chains open to any validator. Its links to two messenger companies are a strength, but they also mean changes in partners’ strategies can hit it hard.
In the Klaytn era the foundation was criticised over how it managed tokens and ecosystem funds. Uniting two chains and two communities takes time, and the chain is exposed to changing crypto rules across Asia.
Written from information public up to October 2026. It does not recommend or rate any coin and is not investment advice. If something is wrong, please tell us through the contact page.