In December 2021, the 100 million-user Indian social network successfully delivered a beta testnet of the $GARI token to 500 committed community members in preparation for the mainnet launch this week.
Chingari, an Indian social networking platform with 100 million users, has revealed plans to improve the experience of its creative economy by integrating a native digital asset, $GARI, and a cryptocurrency wallet via the Solana blockchain.
The Chingari user interface, which translates to ‘Spark’ in Urdu and Hindi — a branding that matches the flame icon — is frequently compared to popular Western entertainment services TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts because of its primary focus on short-timed, infinitely accessible video content.
The platform, which was launched in 2018, has developed at an exponential rate over the last several years, gathering over 35 million monthly active users to become the country’s most popular mobile application on the Google Play store.
Creators are praised for their entertainment across a variety of genres, including lip-synching, belly dance, comic sketches, and fashion recommendations, among others, as they do on TikTok.
Chingari has raised money through a number of rounds since April 2021, including a $13 million corporate round on April 1, a $19 million Series A led by Galaxy Digital and Republic Crypto on October 8, and a $40 million initial coin offering on November 4, which was followed by a $13.37 million Series A continuation on January 17 this year.
GARI, a Solana Program Library (SPL) asset, will be used to “connect and transact with their counterparties, place governance votes, and drive platform engagement and user base expansion,” according to the team member, who then went on to explain:
The goal is to provide technology tools for both makers and watchers on the Chingari App to communicate directly with one another, as well as to allow all Chingari App users to participate in the long-term direction of the social economy affecting the GARI Token.“
They also revealed intentions to build an NFT marketplace in the future, where “creators would be able to mint their videos, sell them as NFT, and get GARI.”
Following widespread concern about the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) regulatory intentions with regard to digital assets, a proposed infrastructure bill obtained by local news outlet NDTV suggests that the government is planning to impose a regulatory framework for digital assets rather than an outright ban.
In addition, the Indian government has taken a firm stance against accepting cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum as legal money, preferring to focus on the sustainability of a government-backed central-bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital rupee.
The means by which the $GARI asset will act as a governance token in supporting true decentralization on the network were explained by Chingari representatives, who stated:
“We’re built on Web3, and Web3 DAO is based on community decisions.” Holders of $Gari will be able to stake and earn yield, as well as vote on ideas that will determine the platform’s future path.“
Following an inquiring discussion on the possibility of a token airdrop for early adopters, top creators, or the 500 community members who participated in beta testing.
Every Chingari app user who accomplished specified tasks in the airdrop campaign will receive 100 GARI tokens… assuming that the users have completed KYC. This is one of the largest airdrop campaigns ever, with about 5 million tokens set aside for the community.
Over the last two weeks, the GARI token price has been stuck in a range between $0.252 and $0.685. Following the acquisition of trading status on a number of well-known exchanges last week, including FTX, Kucoin, and Huobi.
