We’re excited to announce that the SLIVER.tv Korea app just launched and is now available in the Google Play store to all Korean-region users. SLIVER.tv Korea is the world’s first end-to-end mobile esports experience, powered by the Theta blockchain, TFUEL, and a new token “Beans” built on the Klaytn blockchain. We are launching SLIVER.tv Korea as a way to further our main goal for the Theta Network: user adoption.

Adoption Challenges for Blockchain Technology

As we build the Theta Network, we have always focused on what will lead to the most user adoption. It’s no secret that for many blockchain projects, even best-in-class ones, user adoption of blockchain technology has lagged far behind development. Whether it’s decentralized finance or blockchain games using Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), even the most promising projects are learning that building a large userbase from the ground up is not easy!

But not every blockchain project is starting from zero — the more top-down method is to introduce the benefits of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies to a large existing userbase. Facebook’s proposed Libra cryptocurrency and MoneyGram’s adoption of Ripple’s xRapid program are just a few major examples of this strategy.

Messaging Platforms x Blockchain could be Disruptive at Scale

One key group of companies using this approach is global messaging applications. Messaging apps like Line and Telegram are leading the charge here, with the LINK and TON tokens respectively. By making these cryptoassets a core piece of their messaging apps, they offer the promise of instant, trustless, global payments at a scale never before seen. Each app has a user base of more than 200 million Monthly Active Users, and so are poised to deliver the benefits of cryptocurrencies to more users than all dapps in existence today! This is particularly important to regional messaging apps looking to expand globally — cross-border payments and frictionless e-commerce facilitated by cryptocurrencies can serve as the “killer app” to take these applications to the next level. Add to this, an easy-to-use built-in crypto wallet and a specialized appstore for dapps and you have a recipe for user adoption, at scale.

How does SLIVER.tv and Theta fit in?

While SLIVER.tv isn’t quite the size of Line or Telegram yet, we’re no strangers to the approach of introducing an existing userbase to the benefits of blockchain. Over 3M users of SLIVER.tv have been critical early adopters of the Theta Network, sharing their excess bandwidth and helping us bootstrap the decentralized video delivery network. Now we have the opportunity to build on that success by expanding the brand to a new market with SLIVER.tv Korea.

Just like our core SLIVER.tv app, SLIVER.tv Korea incorporates the Theta blockchain and streaming protocol, allowing users to share their stream with nearby peers and earn Theta Fuel (TFUEL) for their network contributions. In the SLIVER.tv Korea app, TFUEL on Theta blockchain can be converted to the Klaytn-based Beans token, which are used for donations, gifting, item purchases, and more. All transactions can be transparently observed on-chain via the Theta block explorer and Klaytn block explorer, whether you are a viewer earning TFUEL for sharing your bandwidth, or a streamer earning Beans donations. This makes SLIVER.tv Korea one of the first mobile apps to integrate not just one but two native Main-net blockchains.

SLIVER.tv Korea is one of the first blockchain apps launched on Klaytn, the blockchain project developed by Kakao-subsidiary GroundX. As the premier blockchain protocol of Korea, our collaboration with Klaytn marks an unprecedented opportunity to introduce Theta streaming to millions of Korean users. Kakao is one of the leading tech brands in Korea, creator of messaging app KakaoTalk, ride-sharing app KakaoTaxi, KakaoPay mobile payments and many others. Their technical experience and consumer reach in Korea will be a huge driver in the adoption of SLIVER.tv Korea, and with it the Theta and Klaytn blockchains.

Keep in mind, this is only version 1.0 of the SLIVER.tv Korea app! We are already working on more app features and content that will be released alongside new Klaytn ecosystem developments later this year, so stay tuned.

Cheers,

The Theta team