Cyworld, which became popular as a domestic first-generation SNS, closes in July if it cannot find investors. When the company closes, Clink issued by Cyworld for the purpose of a utility token (a cryptocurrency created and managed by a smart contract on a specific blockchain platform) will also disappear as a backlog of history. Starting with Clink, we paid attention to blockchain projects that disappeared this year.
‘Clink’ disappearing with Cyworld
Cyworld gained great popularity by introducing a cyber money called ‘Dotori’. Cyber money is a currency that can be used as a currency within the platform in a manner determined by a specific company. It is similar to utility token, which is a kind of cryptocurrency.
Cyworld published its own cryptocurrency ‘Clink’ in 2018, taking advantage of its successful experience of Dotori. Cyworld listed Clink on Coinzest, Bitsonic, etc. while conducting Clink IEO (Initial Exchange Offering).
Cyworld started ambitiously for the purpose of recovering, but the industry predicted that Clink would be difficult to survive in the market. In fact, Clink IEO sold only half of its original volume. The plan to aim for another leap through the sale of tokens foundered. Clink’s prices plummeted from 20 won to less than 1 won after listing. The plan for ‘Cyworld 3.0’, which is known as Clink platform that announced the release in the third quarter of last year, has disappeared without rumors.
In October of last year, Cyworld domain was suspended without prior notice, which led to a crisis of Clink. Rumors also circulated that the business was closed. In response, Bitsonic reviewed Clink’s listing eligibility. The listing was maintained. Other exchanges also remained Clink’s listing.
Clink was brought to the forefront again on the 26th of last month when IRS announced that it had closed Cyworld. Cyworld CEO Jeon Je Wan said in an interview with a press, “If we can’t find an investor within a month, we will voluntarily close it.”
Cyworld can currently be accessible, but cannot be logged in. Clink’s homepage can also be entered, but it is impossible to communicate with the officials because the community disappeared. Glosfer, which signed an agreement with Cyworld to develop a blockchain platform in 2018, said, “Clink related personnel have resigned and we never developed Clink.” There was no progress in Clink development. Clink, is scheduled to close in July with Cyworld.
Business suspension due to regulatory uncertainty; Watcha’s ‘Contents Protocol’
Watcha developed ‘Contents Protocol (CPT)’ to provide cryptocurrency as a reward for participation activities to platform users. This is to encourage users to actively participate in the platform through cryptocurrency rewards.
Contents Protocol was listed on Upbit in January of last year and received market expectations. Contents Protocol was operated in a centralized platform called ‘Watcha’ by providing users with a reward when they leave a comment or like.
Contents Protocol suddenly announced its closure in February due to the uncertainty about the regulation of cryptocurrency and the lack of business prospects. As a result, it was abolished from Upbit, which was the only exchage that listed it. .
Official of Contents Protocol said, “With the legal review and advice of Korean and Singapore law firms, the remaining assets are converted into Etherium and distributed to holders who applied for a refund within the compensation application period.” The corporation went through the liquidation process and the recovered Contents Protocol was incinerated. Contents Protocol’s distribution process ended on the 31st of last month.
‘Civil’, ‘Bitberry’ failed the experiment, but left a possibility
‘Civil’ is a decentralized blockchain media founded in 2016. Civil wanted to break away from the existing media profit structure that had relied on advertisements to create a new media platform with a profit structure through cryptocurrency rewards.
On the 2nd, Civil Representative Matthew Iles said on a blog, “We will stop operating the project due to financial difficulties.” In the past six months, key personnel of Civil have left the company and Civil has failed to attract investment. Partnerships with existing media companies have also been unsuccessful, making it difficult to continue business. The existing Civil team is working on Etherium-based identity solutions at Etherium-based software developer company ConsenSys.
Although the business failed, Civil representative Iles said, “We developed an attractive technology,” and added, “We tried to do something that wasn’t ready at a good time.” Civil failed, but the experiment itself was considered meaningful in that it presented a ‘decentralized media profit model’.
‘Bitberry’ is a cryptocurrency wallet developed by Rootone Soft, a subsidiary of Dunamu, cryptocurrency exchange Upbit’s operator. It was the only cryptocurrency wallet associated with Kakaotalk before the release of Klip. Compared to other wallets, it is easier to use, so subscribers exceeded 100,000. Bitberry once attracted attention as a practical example of blockchain, but could not find an appropriate profit model. In the end, it announced in January that the business will be terminated due to market deterioration and uncertainty. Subsequently, Dunamu sold Rootone Soft to Monstercube, a developer of Soda Play, a blockchain DApp.
Bitberry was able to resume service thanks to the acquisition of Monstercube. Bitberry is meaningful in that it makes it easy for users who have no knowledge of blockchain or cryptocurrency to use cryptocurrency wallets without complicated addresses.
