Author: Nancy, PANews

Compared to the intense battle of Layer2, the Layer1 projects that were hot in the previous cycle appear much quieter, with many L1 chains experiencing a downturn in on-chain activity. However, the long-dormant on-chain data of NEAR Protocol has seen a significant increase recently, with a surge in both user numbers and transaction volume, attributed to the launch of the shopping platform KaiKai, especially with the introduction of a multiple token reward plan this month.

KaiKai is not a native crypto project on the Near network, but a "chain-modified" shopping platform under Cosmose AI, a consumer shopping data analysis platform in which NEAR has invested.

Since September, the on-chain activity of NEAR Protocol has shown a significant surge. According to NEAR's official block explorer, as of September 12th, the daily transaction volume has exceeded 1.49 million transactions, with approximately 680,000 daily active accounts. On September 5th, NEAR reached its historical peak in various data, with a daily transaction volume of approximately 3.165 million transactions, approximately 926,000 daily active accounts, and a daily Gas usage of over 35,000 NEAR tokens. Prior to this, most of NEAR's daily transaction volume was between 300,000 and 500,000 transactions, and the daily active accounts were generally less than 100,000.

According to Token Terminal data, in the past 30 days, the daily active user count of NEAR Protocol has exceeded that of Ethereum, Polygon, and Startnet, with a growth of approximately 879.7% in the past 30 days.

Furthermore, according to the past 14 days' data from the NEAR block explorer, the top 10 most active contracts, named "KAI-Ching," have consistently ranked in the top two in terms of transaction volume, creating a total of 19.546 million transactions in the past two weeks.

At the same time, data tracked by DappRadar shows that as of September 12th, the daily UAW (unique active wallets) count of KAI-Ching has exceeded 580,000, with approximately 584,000 daily transactions.

It is worth mentioning that in September, KaiKai launched a shopping reward plan, allowing users of the KaiKai App to earn double or even triple KAI-Ching when shopping, which may also be the direct cause of the sudden surge in NEAR data.

KAI-Ching is actually the native stablecoin of Cosmose AI's flagship product KaiKai running on the NEAR network and pegged to the US dollar. It is understood that Cosmose AI is a consumer shopping data analysis platform established in 2014, serving over 20 million stores and 1 billion users globally, including top brands such as LVMH, GUCCI, BURBERRY, Cartier, Tencent, and Estée Lauder.

Cosmose AI uses AI analysis to track in-store foot traffic and interact with online shoppers. Its retail solution suite includes the KaiKai application, which allows customers to discover nearby retail stores and online positioning platforms. Among them, KaiKai is the flagship product of Cosmose AI, integrating elements of shopping, retail, and gamification, supporting numerous brands such as NIKE, Samsung, Apple, Celine, and Nintendo Switch. According to the official introduction, KaiKai's features include limited-time exclusive Product Drops, AR technology, live streaming featuring celebrities and internet celebrities, earning rewards for collecting products and writing reviews, and access to NEAR wallets through the KaiKai app.

In April of this year, the NEAR Foundation announced a strategic investment in Cosmose AI at a valuation of $500 million. According to the cooperation plan, Cosmose AI and KaiKai will undergo a chain modification through the NEAR protocol, and both parties will establish a stablecoin payment system, allowing users to use cryptocurrencies for shopping at lower transaction costs.

According to the official introduction, KaiKai has launched a blockchain-based loyalty program, creating a native cryptocurrency called "Kai-Ching," which users can earn extra tokens while playing and shopping on the platform, similar to any other retail reward program. The difference is that Cosmose AI can provide more personalized recommendations and reward suggestions, and customers can easily transact on the NEAR blockchain using the native KaiKai crypto wallet. Additionally, KaiKai has created a crypto wallet for users to exchange fiat currency for Kai-Ching, and of course, the token also supports conversion back to fiat currency. For this reason, Cosmose has also created a treasury for Kai-Ching, pegged to the US dollar (1 Kai-Ching = 1 cent), and can only be traded within the application to prevent value fluctuations. However, according to KaiKai, the platform is working hard to obtain the necessary licenses for future trading of KAI-CHING.

The reason for choosing a chain modification, as revealed by Cosmose AI, is that third-party payment companies such as Stripe and PayPal charge over 10% for small transactions, forcing sellers to raise prices and thus compelling buyers to pay an additional 6%-10% fee. In contrast, the encrypted payment system can significantly reduce transaction costs.

Furthermore, although Cosmose AI has not publicly disclosed the specific number of crypto users, it has revealed that one-third of transactions are made using Kai-Ching, and 83.5% of users are from Generation Z.

In conclusion, public chains are an important infrastructure in the Web3 field and one of the most competitive tracks. Currently, in addition to building technological barriers, projects like NEAR and Polygon are transforming into tools for Web2, allowing more users outside the circle to use Web3 technology and build their own advantages. From the current perspective, this strategy seems to be showing initial results.

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