What is Kaia (KAIA)?

What is Kaia? It is a Web3 protocol that stands out with its on-chain information generation, AI integration, and community-focused governance model. Kaia can be defined as an AI-powered content platform and is attracting attention in the AI ​​blockchain project field. Born on August 29, 2024, through the merger of Kakao's Klaytn and LINE's Finschia networks, Kaia has attracted attention since its inception with its potential to reach over 250 million Asia-based users. In this guide, we will explore the details of Kaia project, its history, its value, and the team behind it. We will also discuss the innovations offered by the Kaia Web3 ecosystem and the use cases of the KAIA token (Kaia coin).

Kaia's Definition and Origins

Kaia was developed as a decentralized content protocol built on AI-powered information generation, verification, and distribution. Its primary goal is to make AI-generated content transparent and immutable by recording it on the blockchain, rewarding those who contribute to it, and sharing knowledge in a censorship-resistant, distributed manner. In short, Kaia combines the productive power of AI technology with the reliability of blockchain technology to offer a participatory knowledge production protocol. In this way, it aims to introduce a new knowledge economy model in the digital world: Content creators and verifiers are rewarded proportionally to their contributions, while users gain access to reliable and verified information through on-chain knowledge production.

The Kaia protocol was first announced in 2024 and opened to community participation. Kaia's origins lie in the merger of two major Asian blockchain startups: Klaytn, a Kakao-backed company in South Korea, and Finschia, the blockchain of Japan-based LINE. These mergers, with the approval of their respective communities, led to the merger in early 2024. This merger gave birth to a new ecosystem called the Kaia network and the KAIA token. The Kaia mainnet officially launched at the end of August 2024, and the new brand identity was introduced to the community. Designed as an open-source and permissionless network, the project focused on creating an environment where everyone could contribute and participate in development from day one. In short, Kaia emerged as a Web3 protocol centered on transparency and participation in knowledge creation, with an approach we might call the AI ​​data verification chain.

So, what is the Kaia token? KAIA is the protocol's native cryptocurrency and forms the economic foundation of the network. If you're wondering what the Kaia token (KAIA coin) is used for, it's used to pay transaction fees on the network, run smart contracts, and reward users for their contributions. The KAIA token is also used to participate in governance votes within the Kaia ecosystem and support network security through staking (we'll cover these topics shortly). In short, KAIA is the utility token at the heart of all activities within the protocol.

Kaia's History: Major Milestones

The Kaia project's development has gone through several significant stages since its announcement in 2024. Here are some milestones from Kaia's history:

• 2024 – Project announcement and beginning of community participation: Project Kaia, the merger of the Klaytn and Finschia networks, was first announced in early 2024. In January 2024, the communities of both projects voted to approve the proposal for the mainnet merger. This enabled Kaia to gain broad community support even before its mainnet launch. In April 2024, a new identity featuring the "Kaia" brand and ampersand logo was announced, emphasizing community, sustainability, and simplicity among the values ​​represented by this identity.
• Mid-2024 – Early testing and preparations: Before the Kaia mainnet was launched, some innovative systems were tested on the testnet. For example, a knowledge blockchain system was piloted, which records content generated by AI models on-chain and verifies it by tracking its contributors. Community members experimented with the protocol's working blockchain by contributing content to the testnet and verifying others' content. During this process, significant feedback was gathered regarding contribution verification mechanisms and how information flow would be tracked on the blockchain. Using data from these early tests, the Kaia team matured the protocol's infrastructure and integrated measures to prevent potential abuse.
• August 2024 – KAIA mainnet launch and token migration: The Klaytn and Finschia networks officially merged, and the Kaia mainnet went live on August 29, 2024. With this merger, the cryptocurrencies of both legacy networks (KLAY and LINK/FNSA) were converted into the new KAIA token. Starting with a total supply of approximately 5.7 billion, KAIA coins were initially distributed through a 1:1 swap for KLAY and a 148:1 swap for Finschia (LINK). With the launch of the mainnet, the first staking model was implemented: Those who wanted to become validators or contribute as delegators to the network's consensus mechanism began participating by staking (locking) a certain amount of KAIA tokens. The protocol was adjusted so that newly minted KAIA rewards were distributed to validators and stakers with each block. This ensured both network security and provided economic incentives to early contributors.
• Late 2024 – First partnerships and ecosystem growth: With the launch of the mainnet, Kaia began attracting real-world use cases and applications. The first collaborations with Web3 content creators and AI developers occurred during this period. For example, in November 2024, the first AI-powered decentralized application, called FlareAI, was launched on the Kaia blockchain. This application combined AI and blockchain by leveraging Kaia's high-speed, low-latency infrastructure to improve data quality and privacy. The launch of FlareAI on Kaia served as a concrete demonstration of the integration of AI and blockchain, attracting new developers to the ecosystem. The Kaia Foundation also initiated discussions with various teams developing content platforms, NFT projects, and data verification tools. Integrations with identity and data infrastructure providers like CARV were announced, paving the way for user contributions to be associated with on-chain identities and rewarded. Thanks to these early partnerships, the Kaia network gained growth momentum in both content creation and AI applications.
• 2025 – Ecosystem growth, technical updates, and AI integration: 2025 marked the strengthening of the technical infrastructure and significant improvements to the user experience for Kaia. Version updates v2.0.1, v2.0.2, and v2.0.3, released in the first half of the year, increased network stability, addressed backward compatibility issues, and integrated advanced features such as platform-level multisig support. In particular, the tools provided by the Kaia Toolkit for developers for multisig processes have offered significant security advantages for DAOs and institutional actors. Furthermore, the Kaia Agent Kit was introduced, a new software component that facilitates on-chain interactions for developers. The Trustless Gas Abstraction feature, announced in June, now allows users to pay gas fees directly with stablecoins, significantly increasing the Kaia network's Web3 accessibility. At the same time, the integration of DeFi and AI within Kaia's Mini Dapp ecosystem accelerated, and new scenarios for how AI-powered dApps could be used in the DeFi space began to be tested. Finally, a comprehensive research report published in May 2025 analyzed the technical structure, user experience, and integration potential of the Mini Dapp infrastructure, providing a detailed roadmap for the community.

Why Is Kaia Valuable?

In other words, Kaia offers an infrastructure that integrates AI-powered content creation with on-chain recording, verification, and incentive mechanisms. So, why might Kaia be valuable? Is it truly a project worth considering? Let's take a closer look.

On-chain, verifiable information production

Kaia provides transparency by recording the content generated by AI models on-chain. This allows for the identification of when and by whom information was created, its original sources, and any changes made to it to be traceable on the blockchain. Because content is stored as immutable records, the accuracy of the information can be verified by the community and is protected against manipulation. In short, Kaia removes the dependence of information flow on the internet on central authorities or individual servers and supports the blockchain with a trust mechanism, creating a reliable Kaia information chain.

Staking and reward incentives for network contributors

Kaia incentivizes participants through its staking and contribution reward system. Anyone who contributes information to the network, verifies content, or supports the network's technical infrastructure (e.g., by running nodes) is motivated by KAIA token rewards. For example, users can participate in the network's consensus process by staking their KAIA tokens and earn regular rewards in return. Content creators are also rewarded with tokens for quality contributions. This economic model keeps the network vibrant and healthy by encouraging participants to act with a long-term perspective. Ultimately, Kaia offers its users a new digital information economy based on a "contribute-to-earn" model.

 

Community-driven governance with a DAO structure

Kaia is a project that adopts the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) model. This means that network-related decisions, such as parameter changes or verification of content accuracy, are determined by community votes rather than a central authority. KAIA token holders can direct protocol development by voting within the Kaia DAO. For example, issues such as the network's inflation rate, fee structure, or content rules can be voted on by token holders. This democratic approach supports the vision of a participatory knowledge creation protocol, placing the accuracy control over information and content directly within the users themselves. Kaia's governance model is built on three pillars: a community comprising all KAIA token holders, a council that implements recommendations, and a foundation that provides technical guidance. This creates a flexible structure that minimizes errors and enables rapid decision-making through broad participatory discussion and voting processes. In short, the Kaia network fulfills its claim to be a decentralized content protocol through robust DAO governance.

A new digital information economy model with the combination of AI + Web3

Perhaps Kaia's most innovative aspect is its blend of AI and Web3 concepts. Today, content creation is becoming more automated thanks to AI models, but the accuracy or origin of this content can often be uncertain. Kaia, on the other hand, instantly processes AI-generated content on the blockchain, making every piece of information traceable. Furthermore, it enables the creation of economic value on this content (such as token rewards, trading, or licensing). This, unlike traditional content platforms, creates a new digital information economy where everyone who produces, verifies, and consumes information can share in the value stream. With its modular and AI-compatible structure, the Kaia network paves the way for future AI-integrated Web3 applications. For example, innovative use cases such as decentralized AI marketplaces, verifiable AI generation (such as fraudulent content detection), and AI-powered gaming experiences are already blossoming on Kaia.

Who is the Founder of Kaia?

The Kaia project has no single, definitive founder. The project was developed collectively by a multidisciplinary team experienced in artificial intelligence, blockchain, and digital information systems. The core of this team is comprised of the technical staff and communities of the two merged projects (Klaytn and Finschia). The Kaia DLT Foundation, established after the 2024 merger, serves to maintain and coordinate the project. However, rather than retaining central control of the project, the foundation acts as a facilitator, implementing community decisions and providing technical support.

From the outset, the project has been developed as open source and operates on decentralized governance principles. This means that Kaia's code is available to the entire community on platforms like GitHub, and anyone can contribute. The team frequently emphasizes their belief that the protocol's success depends on community contributions rather than individual contributions. Therefore, the project team prefers to focus on the protocol's function and purpose rather than its own identities. The ampersand symbol chosen as the Kaia brand logo symbolizes this approach.

While Kaia has strong institutional backers (initiatives from tech giants like Kakao and LINE form the foundation of this project), its governance model is a community-led DAO. Key decisions are made through a council comprised of various stakeholders, called the Kaia Council, and through votes involving all token holders. Over time, as the community grows and the ecosystem develops, Kaia's governance structure evolves, becoming more democratic and decentralized.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

So far, we've touched on many topics, including what Kaia is, how it came into being, its technological infrastructure, and why it stands out as a valuable project. Kaia's AI-powered knowledge production model, on-chain ledger system, and community-based governance approach make it not only a technical innovation but also a venture poised to shape the future of digital information. Of course, many questions arise in the minds of both investors and users new to the Web3 world: How does Kaia actually work? What are the benefits of the KAIA token? How is AI-powered content creation integrated into the chain? How does the community participate in governance? In this section, we will address these frequently asked questions.

• What is Kaia (KAIA) and what does KAIA token do?: Kaia is an AI-powered blockchain-based information production protocol. It stores, verifies, and shares content generated by AI models on the chain with the community. This provides a reliable, transparent, and decentralized information platform; in short, it is both an AI blockchain project and a community-driven content ecosystem.
• How does AI-powered information creation work?: AI-powered content creation on Kaia occurs by recording the data generated by AI models on the blockchain. For example, when a user produces AI-powered content (an article, image, response, etc.), its hash value and metadata are committed to the Kaia chain. Community members then confirm the quality of this content by voting or verifying it, thus making AI-generated information an on-chain reference. How are contributors rewarded?: Everyone who contributes to the Kaia ecosystem is incentivized with token rewards. For example, users who contribute to block production or verify content as validators on the network receive rewards in KAIA tokens. Content creators can also earn tokens if their content is liked and approved; this reward system aims to maintain quality information production and network security.
• What is the KAIA token used for?: The KAIA token (Kaia coin) is the native cryptocurrency of the Kaia network and has a variety of uses. KAIA is primarily used to pay for transactions on the network. KAIA tokens are also used to stake and participate in network consensus and gain voting rights in governance votes. So, the purpose of the Kaia coin lies in its role in every aspect of the network, from transactions to governance.
• How does the Kaia DAO structure work?: Kaia's DAO structure is a decentralized and community-driven governance mechanism. KAIA token holders have a say in decisions about the future of the network by participating in periodic votes. Proposals are first discussed within the community, then put to a vote and, with majority approval, integrated into the protocol. The Kaia Council and foundation provide technical guidance during this process, but the final say rests with the community.
• Is the project open-source?: Yes, the Kaia project is fully open-source. The project's source code and documentation are open to anyone to review and contribute. This allows developers to easily integrate into the Kaia ecosystem, and the community can transparently monitor the project's progress. Being open-source also allows Kaia's security vulnerabilities to be quickly identified and addressed, enabling collective innovation.

To explore the decentralized future of knowledge production in the age of artificial intelligence, check out JR Kripto's Kaia (KAIA) guide.