Chingari to become first Indian social network to issue crypto tokens

Homegrown short-video platform Chingari says it is planning to launch its own crypto token, called $GARI. The company announced a $19 million token round today. A token round is where investors invest in a startup by buying tokens of the project directly, which in this case is $GARI.

The $GARI coin will be built on the Solana blockchain network, an up and coming cryptocurrency that is often seen as a competitor to Ethereum. The company’s first token sale is scheduled for November 2, according to a report by Cointelegraph.

The new funding round was co-led by blockchain investors Republic Crypto and Galaxy Digital. It included a total of 30 venture funds, US-based Kraken crypto exchange and Solana Capital, a crypto company that builds decentralized apps on the Solana blockchain. The company had also raised $1.4 million last year and another $13 million in April this year.

“The future of a platform lies in its creators. On one side, we have an immense talent pool that needs to be explored, and rewarded with an ethical amount of monetization. On the other hand, while crypto experiences a rapid expansion in India, $GARI is poised to make it mainstream,” said Sumit Ghosh, CEO and co-founder of Chingari.

The company already has a system called Chingari Coins on the app, which allows users and creators to earn money for performing specific activities, like uploading original audio. These Chingari Coins can be redeemed for cash. It’s unclear whether $GARI will replace these coins or make the Chinagri Coins fungible with the new blockchain-based token. 

The idea of having a virtual currency built into social apps isn’t particularly new. Chinese platforms like Bigo Live and TikTok also had systems similar to the Chingari Coin, although neither of those platforms used a real cryptocurrency. The difference between $GARI and other social media virtual currency would be that $GARI would be tradeable on crypto-exchanges, which means its value will fluctuate based on market movements and will also be tied to Chingari’s own valuation.