A brief history
Klaytn, which was launched in 2019, is a public blockchain platform of the leading South Korean mobile platform, Kakao. It aims to deliver an enterprise-grade, service-centric solution by combining the best features of public and private blockchains via an efficient "hybrid" design. Klaytn makes use of a modular network to allow businesses to seamlessly interface, and operate their own customized service-oriented blockchain on the Klaytn architecture. These service-oriented blockchains are referred to as service chains, and they run autonomously as subnetworks. Additionally, Klaytn employs an enhanced version of Instabul Byzantine Fault Tolerance (IBFT). This mechanism enables the network to operate a hybrid infrastructure as earlier mentioned, combining both benefits of private and public blockchain together. Despite using IBFT as its primary consensus mechanism, Klaytn still allows new users to employ the POS consensus mechanism on their blockchains, which can support a more limited number of validators. It should also be mentioned that the Klaytn Governance Council is made up of an alliance of multinational businesses and organizations. These businesses are responsible for operating the consensus node network and driving the ecosystem growth. Council members can vote on proposals to make changes to the platform, including the development of layer 2 solutions, transaction fee policies, and other structural adjustments.

KLAY in practice
KLAY is the default and native token used on the Klaytn blockchain. KLAY is primarily used as the utility token for all platform transactions as well as all other blockchain applications on the network. Additionally, there is the Klaytn Improvement Reserve (KIR). The KIR is a reward-based system that utilizes the KLAY token to incentivize commitment to maintaining the growth of the Klaytn ecosystem. By submitting proposals on community incentives, making changes to the platform, and the user/developer experience, applicants can be rewarded or subsidized for their contribution to the ecosystem. KIR helps non-profit organizations implement blockchain services, and provides a range of developer tools to simplify the process of creating blockchain-based applications.