What is BORA?

BORA describes itself as a decentralised entertainment platform that aims to distribute digital content and provide incentives to participants. Currently in its version 2.0, BORA was created to accommodate a wide range of game, content, and entertainment-specific demands on blockchain technology. Its token is also called BORA.

A brief history of BORA

BORA’s origins date back to December 2017, when Way2Bit, the blockchain technology company that created the BORA platform, was launched. The team behind BORA was composed of a Korean team of blockchain and mobile development experts, including Way2Bit CEO Gyehan Song and Chief Strategic Officer Yune Kyung Ho.

On 30 May 2018, the BORA team published a white paper outlining its solution to the problems that Internet-based content businesses face. The team designed a dual-blockchain system consisting of an internal blockchain, called the BORA Chain, and the Ethereum public blockchain. With this system, BORA aims to provide the high transaction throughput and expandability required for commercial content application services.

BORA then proceeded to launch a couple of services, including the BORA Lagoon testnet space in November 2018, and the BORA Island digital content blockchain platform, which soft-launched in July 2019.

In September 2019, BORA revealed its plan to transfer its platform from Ethereum to Klaytn’s Mainet ‘Cypress’ by the end of October 2019. Klaytn is the blockchain project of South Korean conglomerate Kakao Corp., whose Kakao Games Inc., unit became the major shareholder of Way2Bit after securing 45.8% of the latter’s total shares. The Klaytn migration was completed in November 2021, during which BORA’s ERC-20 tokens were also swapped for the Klaytn Compatible Token version of BORA.

On 11 April 2022, BORA released a new white paper and website. As of May 2022, the circulating supply of the BORA token is at 861,250,000, while the total supply is 1,205,750,000 tokens.

How BORA works

Currently in its second iteration, the BORA blockchain is capable of forming various solutions that it calls ‘Eco-products’ through its connection with the Klaytn blockchain. Upon its switch from Ethereum to Klaytn, BORA also switched from the proof of authority (PoA) consensus algorithm to the practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT) algorithm used on Klaytn. BORA chose the PBFT algorithm for its speed, fault tolerance, and finality, as well as the convenience of collaborating with several partners that are already active in Klaytn.

Along with the change in the consensus algorithm, BORA also changed its node operation method to one that relies on a governance council for the majority of the decision-making needed for BFT. Currently, BORA has a total of 19 GC partners for BORA 2.0, including Sandbox, Neowiz, and several Kakao subsidiaries.

BORA aims to fix current issues by employing games and digital content, as well as facilitating user communication through the use of a dual-blockchain network and a crypto token for content-related transactions. The BORA ecosystem for media distributes developed digital material to consumers. The platform collaborates with architects in various services and businesses, beginning with the IT entertainment domain, such as games, music, and video. BORA supports blockchain-based technologies, like token connections and smart contracts, which allow for developers to construct blockchain-enabled content and applications — also known as BORA apps, or BApps.

What is BORA used for?

BORA tokens can be used to pay for activities supported in the BORA platform, such as the issuance of service tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by various entities.

Under BORA 2.0, the project introduced inflation and permanent lockup mechanisms. Aside from the current circulating token supply used for trading or paying for blockchain activities, BORA tokens are distributed to five pools: liquidity, ecosystem, community, Governance Council, and reserve, which is to be used for the expansion and growth of the platform.