SEOUL, South Korea, Nov. 12, 2023 /CNW/ -- ZEP, South Korea's premier metaverse platform, announced a strategic partnership on the 13th with global Layer 1 platform NEAR Protocol, outlining plans for collaborative efforts on NEAR Protocol.
NEAR Protocol, recognized for its blockchain network optimized for large-scale user-oriented services, boasts a user-friendly interface and stability akin to Web2. It has witnessed significant growth among Layer 1 blockchains this year, with NEAR-based dApps ranking 1st and 2nd among all blockchain applications according to DappRadar.
ZEP, a joint venture between mobile game developer Supercat (known for "The Kingdom of the Winds: Yeon") and NAVER Z's operator Zepeto, launched its beta version on November 30, 2021. With 1.3 million monthly active users (MAU) and 8.3 million cumulative users this year, ZEP has gained recognition from domestic and international entities. Proving its usability in the domestic market, ZEP is set to enter the Japanese and Southeast Asian markets in the second half of the year.
Mark Mi, Gaming Director of NEAR Protocol, emphasized the collaboration's significance, stating, "This partnership with ZEP marks a pivotal opportunity to extend the NEAR ecosystem into the burgeoning metaverse realm." He added, "We are committed to exposing NEAR users to diverse content across various domains. By collaborating with dApps in content and gaming based on NEAR, we aim to facilitate ZEP's business expansion in the Web3 domain."
NEAR Protocol and ZEP aspire to craft a business model offering varied benefits to users through this collaboration. Plans also include the development of Web3-related features, enhancing the convenience for both developers and users. With this collaboration, ZEP's partners are anticipated to effortlessly issue and distribute diverse Web3-based digital assets, providing users with a seamless Web3 experience within the ZEP metaverse environment.