Introduction

Klaytn is the Layer 1 blockchain platform with low latency, high TPS and immediate finality. It is the optimal blockchain for building games and realizing the metaverse.

Klaytn is a highly optimized, BFT-based public blockchain that aims to meet the enterprise-grade reliability. Key design goals are;

• Immediate finality.

• High TPS that meets real-world use cases.

• Lower the cost of running Blockchain Applications.

• Lower the barriers to entry for end-users.

• Ease the technology adoption process for industry.

Klaytn launched its mainnet, Cypress, on Jun/27/2019 with the following specifications.

• 1-second block generation and confirmation time.

• 4,000 transactions per second.

• Low gas price that is almost 1/10 of Ethereum.

• Runs EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) and supports the execution of Solidity contracts.

• 19 reputable corporations worldwide initially formed Klaytn Governance Council to operate consensus nodes. The current number of consensus nodes is shown in the Klaytnscope.

• More than 50 initial service partners have committed to launch Blockchain Applications on Klaytn.

About Klaytn

Klaytn can be partitioned into three logical subnetworks based on their roles and purposes.

Core Cell Network (CCN)

CCN consists of Core Cells (CCs) that verify and execute transactions submitted through Endpoint Nodes (ENs). CCN is responsible for creating and propagating blocks throughout the network.

Endpoint Node Network (ENN)

ENN consists of Endpoint Nodes (ENs) that mainly create transactions, handle RPC API requests, and process data requests from service chains.

Service Chain Network (SCN)

SCNs are Klaytn subnetworks composed of auxiliary blockchains independently operated by dApps (Decentralized Applications). Service chains are connected to the main chain via ENs.

Core Cell Network and Endpoint Node Network form a Klaytn main chain or mainnet. Blockchain Applications can run on the Klaytn main chain, Cypress, or can operate on their own blockchains called Service Chains. If you want to have a dedicated execution environment for your application that guarantees high TPS and configurable network policies, they recommend using Service Chain.

Why Klaytn

Klaytn is built to be the fundamental trust layer for the metaverse, respecting the participation and contribution from all communities, empowering and bringing them together in the new world. ​ The foremost design principle is; ​

Helping the pioneers to easily build the applications and organize the community in scalable way. As per this principle, Klaytn has been designed to meet the following requirements: ​

High Performance

Throughput(TPS) and Finality

• Main chain should handle at least 4,000 TPS.

• Main chain should guarantee immediate transaction finality with one-second block generation time.

Scalability

• Service chain is the default L2 solution for Klaytn 2.0 that is customizable and easily deployable. The service chain can have its own governance and connect to the Klaytn main chain to anchor data or transfer assets.

• Enterprises or large networks often want to have their own dedicated execution environment. With the service chain, they can maintain an isolated high-performing execution environment that is not affected by other blockchain applications.

• Other scalability solutions will be available in the near future, such as sharding or rollups. ​

Low Cost

• End-users should not be burdened with any higher transaction fee beyond what the traditional systems require.

• Transaction fee should be stable and be determined by the transaction complexity itself, and not the surrounding factors.

Community Co-Building

In addition to the protocol design, Klaytn will expand its territory through community co-building; it includes kinds of communities such as game guilds, investment DAOs, community DAOs, alliance with global players, etc.

Klaytn native coin - KLAY

KLAY is the main internal transferable cryptocurrency of Klaytn and is used to pay transaction fees when creating or executing smart contracts or when transferring KLAY.

KLAY is a necessary element--a fuel--for operating the Klaytn distributed application platform. It is a form of payment made by the clients of the platform to the consensus nodes (CNs) executing the requested operations. To put it another way, KLAY is an incentive; it ensures that developers write high-quality applications (wasteful code costs more) and that the network remains healthy (CNs and RNs are compensated for the resources they contribute).

Token Economy

Klaytn’s token economy is designed to create sustainable funding structures for empowering its ecosystem, growth initiatives, and strategic investments. Many public blockchain projects have monetary systems that solely incentivize their node operators (miners or block producers), focusing only on the technical aspect of network maintenance. However, such designs miss out on the importance of incentivizing other types of participants who contribute to the growth of the network’s token economy or invest in long-term growth prospects. In contrast, Klaytn’s token economy is designed to compensate more diverse forms of contributions from a wider range of participants, and has built-in funding structure to procure sustained resources to fuel future growth initiatives and strategically sourced investment projects in addition to maintaining its blockchain nodes.

Funding Structure

Klaytn’s funding structure runs continuously with Klaytn network’s block generation. With every new block, newly issued KLAY and the sum of transaction fees used in the block (collectively called “block reward”) are aggregated and distributed to the following three destination accounts in accordance to the predetermined ratio:

• Klaytn Governance Council Reward: 50%

• Klaytn Growth Fund (KGF): 40%

• Klaytn Improvement Reserve (KIR): 10%

6.4 KLAY will be minted for every new block. This implies that approximately 200 million KLAY will be minted annually, which is equivalent to 2% annual inflation against the 10 billion KLAY issued at genesis (the annual inflation rate is subject to change through the Klaytn Governance Process). Transaction fee is charged per OPCODE and is metered according to the transaction fee table.

Klaytn Governance Council Reward

Klaytn Governance Council is the collective group of Core Cell Operators (CCOs). Council members are responsible for maintaining Core Cells (CCs), which makes the Council an essential body in the Klaytn ecosystem responsible for providing the underlying infrastructure. To become a Council member, the candidate must undergo a qualification review by the Klaytn Governance Process and must stake at least 5 million KLAY. The Klaytn Governance Council Reward is a structure for incentivizing Council members to continue to provide a stable foundation for the Klaytn ecosystem.

Klaytn Governance Council Reward Mechanism

For every block, a Committee composed of randomly selected Council members is formed. Each Committee has one member assigned the role of Proposer; all other Committee members assume the role of Validators. When a block is successfully created and added to the Klaytn blockchain, the Proposer of the said block is rewarded with 100% of the block reward. The probability of a Council member being selected a Proposer is proportional to the amount of KLAY staked by the member; that is, the more KLAY a member stakes, the more likely that the member will be selected as a Proposer and potentially claim the block reward.

As long as the minimum 5 million KLAY staking requirement is met, Klaytn Governance Council members can freely stake or unstake his or her own KLAY. Staking information is updated every 86,400 blocks, and newly staked KLAY comes info effect two update cycles later from when the staking is completed. Withdrawing staked KLAY requires one week of delay to prevent malicious members from immediately exiting.

Klaytn Governance

The Klaytn Governance Council is a council that has the right to decide various governance matters. To secure its reliability, the early members of the Governance Council have been limited to trusted organizations. This was chosen for the sake of efficiency in the platform's development and stabilization stage. Klaytn reached the stage by joining hands with 31 Governance Council Members and a seamless operation of the Klaytn Mainnet.

Klaytn believes that Klaytn governance should lead Klaytn’s growth aligned with the transition of their world. One of the key transitions in the world is coming from the growth of the metaverse. The technological advancements are ushering in a more metaversified world. In particular, they are witnessing the growth of the influence of non-traditional entities such as Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) and builders. As an organization operating on smart contracts without a centralized structure, DAOs will be a core entity in the metaverse. Builders will have more influence by contributing to the operation and growth of the metaverse.

They are reorganizing their governance structure to better accommodate to the changing world. In addition to traditional enterprises, Klaytn is opening up the Membership of the Klaytn Governance Council to the non-traditional entities mentioned above.

By introducing a stake-based governance model and eliminating the Gini Coefficient from Klaytn’s voting mechanism, Klaytn enables governance participants who can gather more support from Klaytn Communities to shape Klaytn in line with their preference. Entities who can make a proper decision in a Metaversified world will have more influence in the Klaytn GC. They believe DAOs and builders will lead the scene in the future.

When the level of metaversification crosses the critical threshold, Klaytn governance will be fully decentralized with various types of entities. Ultimately, Klaytn will evolve into a DAO of DAOs and a platform for DAOs to communicate the voices of Klaytn Communities through on-chain mechanisms.

Getting KLAY

The testnet KLAY faucet runs on the Baobab network. The faucet can be accessed from the Baobab Klaytn Wallet. https://baobab.wallet.klaytn.foundation/

To receive testnet KLAY, you should have a valid Klaytn account.

• Load your account into the wallet using your private key or keystore file. Testnet KLAY will be sent to the loaded account.

• Clicking Run Faucet button will send you 5 testnet KLAY and update your balance. Note that you can run the faucet for each account once every 24 hours.

Which wallets support Klaytn?

Klaytn is supported by the cold wallet D’cent, as well as a host of hot wallets like Kaikas, MetaMask and more. Please refer to the list https://klaytn.foundation/ecosystem/