In November, India’s social Infotainment platform, Chingari, is setting up to launch its native cryptocurrency, $GARI. The token will incentivize creators on the platform and help them interact more with their fans.
Announced Tuesday, Chingari, ‘Tiktok of India’, will launch the token sale of the native crypto asset, $GARI, assisted by Republic, a top investment firm that has raised over $200 million for hundreds of blockchain and tech startup platforms.
The token sale is another step in the growing stature of the social media app, following major milestones reached in the last few months. The platform surpassed 85 million downloads, ranking as the third fastest-growing social media app in India, ahead of Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, according to SimilarWeb.
As part of its roadmap, the sale is expected to be a ‘critical step’ in its creator-first platform. Speaking on the upcoming sale, CEO and co-founder of Chingari, Sumit Ghosh, said,
“While the creator economy is burgeoning and creators are becoming a pivotal force of this revolution, we believe that creators should be in charge of how the platform is taking shape,” With the introduction of $GARI, we are vesting the decision-making powers back in the hands of the users and enabling content monetization to become more mainstream in India.”
Chingari launched in 2018, designed with creators in mind allowing them to upload short videos (like Tiktok) and share them with their users. In addition, the platform allows them to connect their content with merchandise shops, subscribers and find innovative ways to interact with their fans. Since its launch, the platform’s active users surpassed the 50 million milestone mark.
Once the $GARI token sale is complete, users and creators on the platform will interact more smoothly. The platform will attract more talent by rewarding creators and incentivizing 85 million daily users to interact with the content more frequently.
Over the years, Chingari has seen its popularity rise following Tiktok’s ban on India. However, the incentives, rewards, and offerings for creators have also mainly contributed to the user acquisition on the platform. Unlike other social media apps, creators on Chingari have more control over their content and channels while directly earning passive income from them. The $GARI token is at the centre of the platform, allowing creators to connect to their followers through NFT sales, custom merchandise, incentives, meetups, and other connections with the creator.
Having deployed over $700 million in 600 companies since its launch, Republic expects a similar huge public sale with the $GARI token.
“Thanks to the maturation of digital currencies and regulatory guidance that provides a clear framework for token offerings, we can make this emerging asset class more accessible to qualified Republic investors,” a statement from the Republic team reads. “$GARI represents a major step forward in switching to blockchain tokenomics, bringing more alternative monetization opportunities to the Chingari platform.”
These monetization opportunities for creators and users have attracted some of India’s most talented influencers, bringing more quality content for its exponentially growing user base.
In the future, Chingari aims to build a fully monetized Web3 social app where all participants in the ecosystem can be rewarded for their content and creativity. The $GARI native token will set a “new standard for how traditional companies can reward their users, and build an economy that is both active and meaningful to their users.” Graham Friedman, Director of Token Offerings at Republic, added.