Chingari said the launch of its in-app wallet will be followed by the debut of an NFT marketplace later this year, which will make it possible for users to sell exclusive videos as NFTs.
Chingari app users will finally be able to spend their $GARI tokens within the app, following its latest update. The new version of the Chingari app now integrates an $GARI wallet, through which users will be able to send, receive and store $GARI.
The update delivers on Chingari’s long-held promise to bring cryptocurrency to the heart of its in-app ecosystem. The company believes $GARI will serve a flourishing economy within the app, with users sending the tokens to their favorite influencers to “tip” them, in return for a boosted profile and more views of their own content. People can also earn $GARI simply by watching videos, the company said. $GARI will also support the sale of both video NFTs and physical merchandise.
The launch of the wallet is therefore a key element to the plan to bring crypto to Chingari, and the company believes it is well prepared. It successfully launched a testnet of the app last month, and more than 500 users took part to test the network by setting up their wallets and sending tokens to other participants. Now, the wallet is ready for prime time.
“This will be a game-changer for the Chingari app, when millions of users will experience the integration of $GARI,” said Chingari co-founder and CEO Sumit Ghosh. “We are very excited to launch the in-app wallet of Chingari and give users a revamped app with loaded features.”
Ghosh added that the launch of the $GARI wallet also puts Chingari in a unique position, being one of the few projects in the world to have millions of on-chain users.
That’s likely to be true because Chingari has an enormous user base with more than 35 million monthly active users and over 200 million downloads in total. The app has emerged as India’s favorite short video social media service, topping Google Play in terms of downloads, following the demise of TikTok, which was banned by the country a couple of years ago.
$GARI is an SPL token, meaning it’s powered by the Solana blockchain, which is known for its faster transactions and lower fees than Ethereum. That should help boost user adoption, as two of the main complaints among crypto users today are the high costs and slow processing times when sending transactions.
Chingari has plenty of reason to be optimistic that $GARI’s launch will be well received by its user base. The token has already raised $12.3 million through a pre-sale on the Republic platform, followed by another $6 million in an IDO on SolRazr. Further, the token has since launched on top cryptocurrency exchanges like FTX, Kucoin, Huobi, Gate.io, OKEx, and MEXC Global, and saw more than $100 million in transaction volume in the first 24 hours.
$GARI also has the backing of its brand ambassador, the Bollywood actor and living legend Salman Khan, who has been actively promoting the token and the app since it was first announced in October 2021.
Chingari said the launch of its in-app wallet will be followed by the debut of an NFT marketplace later this year, which will make it possible for users to sell exclusive videos as NFTs.
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