Line Explores Cryptocurrencies for Payment Services, Sources Say

Japan’s largest messaging app working with multiple partners
Services aimed at keeping Line users coming back to platform

Statues of characters from the messaging application Line, operated by Line Corp., stand at the Naver Corp. headquarters in Seongnam, South Korea, on Tuesday, April 28, 2015. Naver, the parent company of Line Corp., operator of Japan's most popular instant-messaging platform, is scheduled to report first-quarter results on April 30.
Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

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By Yuji Nakamura

January 9, 2018 at 9:13 AM UTC

Updated on

January 10, 2018 at 12:21 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Line Corp. is working to integrate cryptocurrencies into its messaging platform as the Tokyo-based company seeks to differentiate its products and services, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The messaging provider is in discussions with multiple companies on using cryptocurrencies for payment services including Line Pay, said the people, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The broader goal is to create products that keep users within Line’s ecosystem and keep them coming back to the app, increasing "stickiness," they said.