Polygon Labs, around a week after its partnership with Jio Platforms Limited (JPL) to bring Web3 capabilities into Jio's ecosystem, made its first integration with Jio Sphere live on Tuesday.
Polygon Labs, a Web3 development platform, has integrated its native wallet with Jio Sphere, the first Indian web browser developed by Jio Platforms Limited (JPL). This integration, which went live on Tuesday, marks the first use of Web3 capabilities by Jio following its partnership with Polygon Labs last week.
CA Aishwary Gupta, Global Head of Payments at Polygon Labs, announced the launch of the native wallet, which is powered by the Polygon Labs PoS Blockchain network, on Jio Sphere in a statement to TechCircle. He also hinted at the development of additional products.
“This is the first integration of many to come. We are excited to launch the Polygon native wallet on Jio Sphere, where Jio Coins will also be present, kicking off a new era of Web3 adoption in India,” Gupta said.
In related user responses, Jio Sphere became the most downloaded application on the App Store after the announcement of the Jio Coins feature. While the partnership between JPL and Polygon was announced last week, discussions and deliberations are said to have taken place over the past one and a half years. Polygon has been collaborating closely with Reliance on integrating Web3 products into Jio’s ecosystems.
Jio Coins, a token built on top of the Ethereum layer 2, which is listed on Polygon Labs, can be earned by users based on their surfing activities on Jio Sphere. After earning these Web3 tokens, users will receive their tokens on Jio Sphere.
These coins are currently non-transferable and non-redeemable. However, experts suggest that Reliance can use them to create a close-loop economy. The precise value of Jio Coins is yet to be determined.
Given Reliance's presence in the telecom, energy and retail sectors, Jio Coins are speculated to be used for making Jio mobile recharges, payments at Reliance gas stations or for any purchases within the Jio network.
Others have likened the Jio Token to the Basic Attention Token (BAT), which is used as a reward by the privacy-focused Brave browser. Speculations suggest that JioTokens could be employed by the conglomerate to incentivise user engagement, potentially introducing an innovative advertising model in the Indian markets.
This partnership between Jio Platforms and Polygon Labs is considered a significant moment in the development of the Indian Blockchain Industry. Despite being launched amidst regulatory challenges, the entry of Reliance’s Jio Platforms in the crypto space is expected to enhance the accessibility and availability of Web3 for Indians, particularly among its 450+ million users.
