Japan's Messaging Platform LINE to Launch NFT Marketplace

Japanese social media and messaging platform LINE has launched its Non-Fungible Token (NFT) marketplace dubbed LINE NFT which is set to officially go live on April 13.

The launch of the LINE NFT platform is in line with the company’s long-standing quest to be a major player in the blockchain industry, and with the marketplace, it will be able to provide a better alternative to all of its 90 million monthly users to participate in the growing NFT ecosystem.

Through LINE NFT, users can purchase digital art and trade them at will. Per the launch schedule revealed, the marketplace will feature a total of 100 collectables at launch encompassing 7 genres and curated from a total of 17 content creators. These content platforms include but are not limited to the popular Yoshimoto Kogyo.

LINE has an active blockchain research lab which it floated back in 2018 and has done impressive research to encompass the key emerging offshoots of blockchain technology. As a part of its strides, the social media giant launched the "NFT Market β" where NFTs based on LINE Blockchain can be traded.

The advent of the Beta market exposed and prepared the company for the launching of the LINE NFT. While the total number of collections seem limited at first, the social media platform affirmed plans to increase the collection library through an active partnership with key players with vested interests in the space including SoftBank Corp. and Z Holdings Corp.

The NFTs secured through the LINE NFT platform will be compatible for storage on its digital wallet dubbed the LINE BITMAX WALLET.

Based on its popularity amongst the Japanese population as well as its regulatory standing in the Asian nation, the LINE NFT marketplace is poised to serve the citizens better than other traditional digital collectable trading platforms such as OpenSea, Rarible, and LooksRare.