As the craze for short-form video content continues to grow uninhibited, Chingari, a short-video platform that focuses on empowering content creators, is creating significant ripples in the Indian social media market.
Since its launch in 2018, Chingari has established itself as the fastest growing Web 2.0 infotainment platform, boasting well over 85 million downloads. As of October 2021, Chingari has overtaken social media giants like Reddit, Twitter and Facebook to cement itself as the third most-used social media app in India.
Building upon its successful track record, the platform has unveiled the public sale for its highly anticipated $GARI token. The Chingari team officially launched the $GARI token earlier this month at a party hosted by Bollywood star and Chingari brand ambassador Salman Khan. Per the announcement, the $GARI public sale, spearheaded by global investment firm Republic, is set to commence in November, 2021.
Graham Friedman, director of token offerings at Republic, is positive about the upcoming sale. He notes:
"Republic is thrilled to support such a dominant Web2 application in their journey towards Web3 and a future where all ecosystem participants can be rewarded for their efforts. We truly believe that the GARI token DAO will set a new standard in how traditional companies can reward their users, and build an economy that is both active and meaningful to their users."
A spokesperson from the Republic team adds:
"Thanks to the maturation of digital currencies and regulatory guidance that provides a clear framework for token offerings, we are able to make this emerging asset class more accessible to qualified Republic investors. $GARI represents a major step forward in switching to blockchain tokenomics, bringing more alternative monetization opportunities to the Chingari platform."
Redefining Content Ownership and Monetization Using Web 3.0
Chingari has been around since 2018, but the platform gained immense popularity following the ban of TikTok and other similar apps by the Indian government. Following this, the Chingari team started to optimize the platform further, gradually transitioning it into a Web 3.0 ecosystem that focuses on a "creator-first" strategic roadmap. As such, the public launch of the $GARI token will play a critical role in the platform’s expansion in the coming days.
Per Sumit Ghosh, CEO and co-founder of Chingari:
"While the creator economy is burgeoning and creators are becoming a pivotal force of this revolution, we believe that creators should be in charge of how the platform is taking shape. With the introduction of $GARI, we are vesting the decision-making powers back in the hands of the users and enabling content monetization to become more mainstream in India."
Compared to most existing Web 2.0 platforms, where content creators often face ownership, usage, rights and monetization problems, Chingari gives creators full ownership and control over their content. Furthermore, the platform also empowers creators to directly connect with followers free of any intermediaries. Most importantly, Chingari introduces several revenue streams for creators to benefit from, including NFT sales and custom merchandise, among others.