Ecommerce major Flipkart on Thursday (December 7) announced that it will deploy blockchain scaling startup Polygon’s chain development kit (CDK) to scale its FireDrops Web3 loyalty programme.
“… This is a game changer for (the) Web3 ecosystem in India. It not only has the potential to attract the top fintech entrepreneurs in India to build Web3 but it also might encourage many other top enterprise and consumer brands to build their app chains,” Polygon cofounder and CEO Sandeep Nailwal said.
The announcement was made at the blockchain company’s flagship event, Polygon Connect India.
The partnership will enable the ecommerce major to build an Ethereum-based zero-knowledge (ZK) layer-2 network to scale future growth and streamline its service.
The Polygon CDK will also make it easy for Flipkart to offer a number of customisation options, including a streamlined onboarding experience, dedicated blockspace and low transaction fees to its users.
“Future upgrades to Polygon CDK will also allow for enhanced privacy for transaction data, the ability to run the chain without a token or to use a central bank digital currency and access to liquidity in the greater Polygon and Ethereum ecosystems,” Polygon said in a statement.
The ecommerce major is also expected to leverage potential future offerings such as interoperable and unified CDK-deployed chains within the broader web of ZK-powered L2s in the Polygon CDK ecosystem. Flipkart plans to leverage all this to power its NFT-based rewards platform FireDrops2.0.
Powered by New York-based NFT brand loyalty platform Hang, FireDrops 2.0 aims to transform user engagement with brands via rewards and by incentivising brand loyalty through gamification.
The loyalty platform envisages a platform that allows users to unlock rewards based on their track record and engagement with a brand. Since its launch in September, FireDrops claims to have attracted more than 3.3 Mn wallets, holding at least one non-fungible token (NFT).
It builds upon the success of previous pilots where users earned NFTs and membership passes through engaging actions.
FireDrops also aims to be the catalyst for spurring Web3 adoption in the country and aims to gain a mover advantage in the budding blockchain space. The partnership is also expected to shore up user engagement and loyalty programmes in the Indian ecommerce space.
The new announcement comes nearly a year after Flipkart announced a strategic partnership with Polygon to establish a blockchain ecommerce Centre of Excellence (CoE) that would scale up Web3 research in the country. In September this year, Flipkart also announced the launch of its metaverse-powered immersive virtual shopping feature, Virtual Worlds.
The development also comes months after Polygon cofounder Jaynti Kanani stepped down from his role. In February, the blockchain scaling company laid off 20% of its workforce on account of a restructuring exercise amid the ongoing crypto winter.
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