[Exclusive] Wemade Distances from Web3... Kroma to Merge with Major Shareholder 'ZKCandy'

Wemade Sells Stake in Kroma Developer Lightsale

Singapore's 'ZKCandy' Becomes Major Shareholder

Official Merger Process with Lightsale Underway

Maintains Cooperative Relationship with Wemade

Wemade has reportedly sold a significant portion of its stake in blockchain subsidiary Lightsale to Singapore-based blockchain company ZKCandy, relinquishing its position as the major shareholder. Lightsale plans to proceed with an official merger process with its new major shareholder, ZKCandy.

According to industry sources on the 12th, Wemade sold 48% of its 70% stake in Kroma developer Lightsale, which it had held since October. It is reported that internal conflicts regarding the Kroma business led to this decision.

Previously, Wemade owned the stake in Lightsale through its blockchain subsidiary, Singapore-based WEMIX Pte. Lightsale's entire stake is owned by Lightsale Holdings, and WEMIX Pte was the major shareholder with 70% of Lightsale Holdings' stake through initial investment. Essentially, Lightsale was a subsidiary of WEMIX and Wemade.

Following the sale, WEMIX has become the second-largest shareholder with a 22% stake in Lightsale. The company that emerged as the major shareholder by acquiring 27% of Lightsale's stake from Wemade is ZKCandy. ZKCandy is a blockchain joint venture established by Southeast Asia's largest game developer iCandy Interactive and ZKsync developer Matter Labs.

In October last year, Lightsale Kroma announced on its official X (formerly Twitter) that "ZKCandy has become Kroma's strategic partner as of today." At the time of the cooperation announcement, ZKCandy became the majority shareholder with a total of 57% stake, including the 27% acquired and an additional 30% management-held stake through the merger with Lightsale.

Kroma is an Ethereum (ETH) Layer 2 project, created to serve as a link between WEMIX and Ethereum. Former Vice Chairman Jang Hyun-guk once explained Kroma as "a project to attract Ethereum users to the WEMIX mainnet."

However, last year's narrative of Ethereum Layer 2 did not achieve good results, and the Kroma token price showed a sluggish trend, leading to the decision to sell the stake. An insider familiar with the matter said, "The decision to sell the Lightsale stake was made internally for cost reduction and risk management."

Nevertheless, Wemade is expected to maintain a close relationship with Lightsale even after the stake arrangement. A representative stated, "Wemade and Lightsale will not become completely separate," adding, "Wemade will maintain a cooperative relationship as a board member and partner of Lightsale."

Meanwhile, with the complete merger of Lightsale and ZKCandy, the Kroma token is also expected to be swapped for ZKCandy's Candy token. However, users who do not wish to swap tokens can continue to hold Kroma tokens. In the future, Kroma is expected to be used as a key asset in ZKCandy's AI payment protocol.

The two companies aim to expand game-centric blockchain services through this merger. A representative from Lightsale stated, "Through this change in share structure, Kroma and ZKCandy have completed a full merger. Kroma's technology is expected to be absorbed into ZKCandy, and in the future, Kroma and ZKCandy will operate as one team." A representative from ZKCandy also expressed, "We have been eyeing Kroma's technology even before the share acquisition," adding, "We are pleased to integrate Kroma into ZKCandy through this opportunity."