Ground X to launch public testnet of blockchain platform 'Klaytn’ on March 29

Ground X, the blockchain subsidiary of South Korean internet giant Kakao, recently shared the vision and roadmap of its global public blockchain platform 'Klaytn,' and announced the third batch of 9 more initial service partners.

Earlier this month, Ground X raised $90 million in a private coin offering, Bloomberg reported.

The latest batch of initial service partners come from various industries including social dating, bicycle sharing, ticketing, and healthcare. Together with the previously announced 17 service providers, the third batch of 9 more partners brings Klaytn’s total initial service partners to 26. The third batch includes:

• Carry Protocol which aims to build a blockchain platform to connect offline merchants with customers.
• A social dating application service called 'Palette' operated by a Japan-based game company 'Cocone' with over 1 million DAU.
• Netherlands-based GET Protocol, which offers a blockchain-based smart ticketing solution that eliminates ticket fraud and exorbitant prices.
• Argentina-based The Sandbox, a decentralized community-driven platform where creators can make voxel assets to enjoy the gaming experience and monetize their assets on blockchain.
• HAWK, a blockchain-based e-scooter sharing technology supported by 'UChain' whose service includes 'U-bicycle,' an urban-bike sharing platform popular around Canada, China, and the U.S. with over 30 million users.
• QueryPie Protocol, a blockchain-based database management toolkit operated by 'CHEQUER,' which developed an IDE database tool called 'SQLGate'.
• SIXR, a blockchain project developed by 'Future Stream Networks' of 'Yellow Digital Marketing Global'.
• Festy, a blockchain-based payments and data intelligence service from Ireland.
• HEX, a platform specialized in the development and operation of personal health record management applications.

Klaytn launched the testnet 'Aspen' exclusively to its partners last month and plans to release the public testnet 'Baobab' that any developer or service provider can use on March 29. The mainnet will launch at the end of June.

According to the official release, Baobab will help eliminate the traditional inconveniences such as private keys and cryptograph addresses, while maintaining the enhanced speed and high security. Also included in Baobab are scalability solutions for blockchain services with large traffic.

“We are developing the Klaytn platform in a way that any user, developer, or service provider finds intuitive to use, and together with our partners, we will provide user-friendly blockchain services on Klaytn,” Jason Han, the CEO of Ground X, said.

"Klaytn is the very first blockchain project with a prospective user base of tens of millions. Together with our partners, Klaytn will take the blockchain industry to the next level by focusing on creating meaningful real use cases."