Ninety Eight: Empowering Asian Blockchain Builders for Web3 Success (Part 1)

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14 Jan 2024

Launched in 2017, Coin98 Finance has undergone an unwavering six-year journey aiming at DeFi product innovation. In 2023, Coin98 Finance was officially rebranded to Ninety Eight, expanding its product range with a strong focus on the C98 token.

What is Ninety Eight?

Ninety Eight is a blockchain technology company established in 2017 in Vietnam. Its ambition is to develop DeFi products that are multi-chain and cross-chain-oriented, facilitating seamless, secure, and straightforward access to Web3 for the community and users.
After operating for six years as Coin98 Finance, the company officially rebranded as Ninety Eight on November 1, 2023, expanding its developmental focus under the slogan "We are builders backing builders”.
In this spirit, Ninety Eight operates with a mission to support and fund blockchain companies, all sharing the vision of making Web3 more accessible to everyone.
Ninety Eight is a company that operates within the blockchain field in Viet Nam

Ninety Eight - A six-year journey

The story begins

In 2017, Coin98 blossomed into a community, welcoming crypto enthusiasts to gather and engage in exchanging ideas, insights, and experiences in the marketplace through social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and Telegram. During this time, Coin98 focused on the Vietnamese market and gradually built a strong following and support from the community.
After two lively years within the community, Coin98 acknowledged the growing potential of DeFi and multi-chain platforms. This forward-thinking prompted a strategic transformation into a product development company named "Coin98 Finance" while still maintaining their original goal of democratizing access to Web3 for everyone as their mission.
The first product is the Coin98 Wallet, a non-custodial wallet that empowers users with full control over their cryptocurrency assets and serves as a portal to facilitate easy access to the Web3 world. This is achieved by offering and integrating comprehensive features as well as supporting various multi-chain platforms.
After six years of operation, Coin98 has consistently developed multiple products and provided solutions for the DeFi ecosystem, gradually substantiating its value. Additionally, Coin98 has received active support from the international community by incorporating multiple languages including English, Thai, Chinese, Turkish, and Japanese.
In November 2023, during the highly anticipated event known as "The One," Coin98 Finance underwent a significant rebranding and became"Ninety Eight". The entities within the Ninety Eight ecosystem are dedicated to creating products that expand their presence in the Web3 space, while also clarifying that their focus extends beyond finance.
Coin98 Finance officially rebranded as Ninety Eight in November 2023
The removal of "Coin" and "Finance" from the team's name, as well as changing the number "98" to the spelled out "Ninety Eight", symbolizes a significant shift in the team's goals. This indicates that Ninety Eight now has a more noble purpose and a wider vision, allowing for the development of new abilities beyond its original focus on finance.
Coin98 Finance changed its name to Ninety Eight, marking a change in ambition
Additionally, Ninety Eight has undergone significant transformations in terms of its logo and core color palette. Specifically, the "98" logo has been redesigned to include a subtle blend of unique, individualistic dots, adding a touch of personality without compromising elegance. This evolution represents a spirit that is open to change and breaking conventional rules.
As for its main color scheme, the team has retained its signature gold, but it has shifted to a brighter and more vibrant shade of yellow. This change symbolizes Ninety Eight's pursuit of a future full of potential and the advancements of Web3, illustrating the team's commitment to embracing change while staying true to its core identity.
The change in logo and main colors shows Ninety Eight innovation
Compared to Coin98, Ninety Eight offers a broader development objective with a panoramic vision. It is not just an individual builder; it also catalyzes other builders in the Asian blockchain industry. It acts as a gateway to guide users in seamlessly accessing and fully exploring the Web3 space.

Explore Ninety Eight highlights

Ninety Eight has some of highlights:

Diverse Products: Starting with the Coin98 non-custodial wallet, Ninety Eight has expanded its offerings to include a diverse range of products. These include DEXs, NFT Marketplaces, Launchpads, On-chain Identity, and Cross-chain Bridges. All these components function simultaneously, providing mutual support to drive the growth of the entire ecosystem.
Multi-chain Oriented Products: Ninety Eight's products are not limited to a single blockchain. Instead, they prioritize a multi-chain approach that allows users to easily and conveniently access and utilize various blockchains.
The Development Team is Purely Vietnamese: Embracing the boundless spirit and ingenious minds of Vietnam, the Ninety Eight team is composed entirely of Vietnamese talent. They are relentlessly active in their mission to construct and elevate projects and products within the ecosystem. Ninety Eight's unwavering commitment is a testament to the country's growing influence in the technology sector, advancing towards the mission to shape the world's digital future.
Emerging from the Community: Ninety Eight stands out as one of the rare projects that has emerged from a crypto community foundation. With approximately two years of community engagement experience, the team possesses a profound understanding of what users truly desire and require.
Nurturing New Ventures: In addition to their own product development, Ninety Eight also operates the Arche Fund, an investment arm dedicated to providing funding to promising projects within the market. Some examples include Impossible Finance, Ancient8, Aura Network, and more. This initiative aims to foster collective growth and development.
Long-term Development Vision: Ninety Eight is committed to delivering core value to its users through a long-term development vision. Since the initial development phase of their wallet product, Ninety Eight has consistently pursued multi-chain and cross-chain oriented features, while other wallets were primarily focusing on a single-chain. Currently, the Coin98 Super Wallet supports the most blockchains and token types for users. Additionally, Ninety Eight continuously researches and develops a diverse array of products and features. This ensures an optimal user experience and offers real value to users in the Web3 space.

Investors of Ninety Eight

Up to now, Ninety Eight has successfully raised capital and received investments in many different rounds from many large funds.
Seed round (April 12, 2021)

Raised capital: 1.25 million USD.
Investors: ParaFi Capital, Multicoin Capital, Hashed, Spartan Group…
Objective: Develop Coin98 Exchange product. In addition to financial aspects, the involvement of investment funds infuses Coin98 Labs with an array of strengths such as strategic advising, marketing acumen, and the ability to attract users on a global scale.

Strategy Round (July 20, 2021)

Raised capital: 11.25 million USD.
Investors: Hashed, Spartan, Multicoin Capital, Alameda Research, ParaFi, IOSG…
Objective: This round of fundraising has provided Coin98 with additional capital to develop an array of new products, thereby expanding its ecosystem.

January 4, 2022

Raised capital: Not announced.
Investors: Binance Labs.
Objective: Binance Labs is accelerating the growth of Coin98 products on the BNB Chain by providing technological support and necessary consulting services to enhance Coin98's contributions to the flourishing ecosystem of the BNB Chain.

Investors of Ninety Eight

The core team of Ninety Eight

The team behind the project has received considerable attention, especially since the entire staff of Ninety Eight is from Vietnam. The two core members of Ninety Eight are:

Mr. Le Thanh: The founder of Ninety Eight. He has several years of experience in the blockchain industry and has also served as an advisor to various national and international crypto projects.
Mr. Nguyen The Vinh: CEO and Co-Founder at Ninety Eight, joined the company in 2019. He also has an esteemed background as a Co-founder of VIC Group and was one of the young luminaries featured in the Forbes Under 30 Asia list of 2022.

The two founders of Ninety Eight both have experience working in the blockchain field
Ninety Eight started as a small YouTube community group and has expanded to other platforms, such as Facebook and Telegram. Along with this growth, Ninety Eight has also created the Coin98 Insights website to provide knowledge about blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies to Vietnamese crypto users.
After a period of operation and earning recognition from users, Ninety Eight began developing its first product, the Coin98 Wallet, with a focus on multi-chain development. Through the market's ups and downs timing, the team has diligently updated and expanded their offerings, introducing numerous new features and products. Each product is a deliberate piece designed to complete the holistic DeFi picture, including DEX, NFT Marketplace, Bridge, and more, with the Coin98 Wallet remaining at the core of their endeavors.
As the ecosystem began to expand and the pieces of the picture gradually fell into place, Ninety Eight turned towards a broader vision, embracing the concept of "builders backing builders" instead of solely focusing on developing products within its ecosystem.
Between 2021 and 2023, Ninety Eight successfully launched the C98 token and listed it on major exchanges, including Finance, Coinbase, OKX... In addition, it integrated various DeFi projects from different blockchain networks. Furthermore, Ninety Eight also expanded into strategic investment deals and acquisitions, such as Cyball, Yunero Studio, Ramper, and TomoChain.
Beyond product development, Ninety Eight has introduced a 25 million USD Ecosystem Fund package and launched the Viction Horizon Hackathon contest to seek and support potential projects. All of these efforts are dedicated to a singular mission - to eliminate barriers and become the gateway that enables Web2 users to effortlessly transition into the world of Web3.
Ninety Eight's product ecosystem

Some remarkable milestones

As of November 2023, Ninety Eight has been operational for six years, marked by a series of significant milestones:

On October 31, 2017, Ninety Eight was established under the name Coin98 as a community group for crypto investors in Vietnam.
In 2019, Coin98 rebranded to Coin98 Finance, shifting its focus from community development to product development.
In January 2020, Coin98 Finance launched its first product, the Coin98 Wallet - a non-custodial crypto wallet with an emphasis on multi-chain development. In 2021, Coin98 Finance raised successfully an investment of over 4 million USD from Alameda Research.
On July 15, 2021, Binance announced the sale of Coin98 Finance's C98 token on Binance Launchpad and listed the C98 token on the Binance exchange on July 23, 2021.
In 2022, Coin98 Finance consistently launched other products such as Saros Finance, Baryon Network, CUSD, SpaceGate… to expand its ecosystem and meet user demand.
On April 11, 2023, Coin98 Finance announced a strategic investment in Ramper, a Social Login wallet developed by engineers in Silicon Valley.
On October 2, 2023, Coin98 Ventures, the investment arm of Coin98, rebranded itself as Arche Fund.
On May 25, 2023, Coin98 Finance made a strategic investment in TomoChain, a Layer 1 blockchain developed by a Vietnamese team.
On June 30, 2023, Coin98 introduced the Vietnam Future Fund, which aims to support startups in Vietnam.
On November 1, 2023, Coin98 Finance rebranded to Ninety Eight at The One event. Along with its new identity, the company announced the rebranding of TomoChain to Viction, the debut of OneID and Zen Card products, and the launch of a 25 million USD Ecosystem Fund.

Vietnam Future Fund

The Vietnam Future Fund is an investment venture introduced and sponsored by Ninety Eight, primarily aimed at supporting companies across various sectors in Vietnam that aspire to expand their global influence.
Beyond the pursuit of profit, the Vietnam Future Fund encapsulates the passion and aspirations of the Ninety Eight team in fostering innovation and inspiring the ambitious younger generation to embark on entrepreneurial ventures within Vietnam. This initiative also reflects the team's gratitude for the community support that has been instrumental in their six-year journey of growth in Vietnam.
Vietnam Future Fund aims to finance startups in Vietnam
Embracing the slogan "Beyond Funding, Beyond Vietnam" the Vietnam Future Fund transcends the traditional role of financial patronage, delving deeper to provide rich resources and essential guidance across all facets of growth. The fund is steadfast in its ambition to lay the optimal groundwork for Vietnamese startups aiming to elevate their business presence on the international stage, thereby fueling Vietnam's ascension as a globally recognized and triumphant nation.

Ecosystem Fund

At The One event, Ninety Eight unveiled a 25 million USD Ecosystem Fund to the community, marking the beginning of a journey to realize the aspiration of "leading Asia in the new wave of technology" as envisioned by Mr. Le Thanh.
The Ecosystem Fund is one of the most effective strategies for blockchain entities looking to expand their ecosystem by seeking out quality projects and supporting them from the early stages.
However, Ninety Eight chose to launch the fund at a time when they already had a diverse product base and six years of real-market experience. This strategic timing will make them more appealing and distinctive, enabling them to attract other talent builders to develop projects within their ecosystem, especially in Vietnam.
This strategy is seen as an essential step for Ninety Eight to discover and nurture potential developers, diversify their products, attract more users to the ecosystem, and broaden the utilities around the C98 token.
Ninety Eight introduces a 25 million USD Ecosystem Development Fund at The One event.

Blockchain Layer 1: Viction

Overview of Viction blockchain

Viction, formerly known as TomoChain, is a Layer 1 blockchain developed by the Ninety Eight team. It boasts distinctive features, such as the Zero Gas fee mechanism of the VRC-25 token standard, high security, and impressive scalability.
After receiving investment and going through a rebranding, Viction now serves as the infrastructure for developing products by Ninety Eight, further enhancing its scalability and continuing the deployment of pre-existing flagship products such as Coin98 Super Wallet, Baryon Network, SpaceGate, and OneID. This synergy amplifies the benefits across the Ninety Eight ecosystem and Viction as a whole.
Through Viction, Ninety Eight users can enjoy a diverse ecosystem of products on a single blockchain, using just one VIC token for gas fees. Additionally, Ninety Eight has developed the VRC-25 token standard features a Zero Gas fee mechanism, allowing users to transact (swap, send tokens, etc.) without requiring VIC tokens as gas fees, simplifying access to Web3 and enhancing the user experience.
Some of the prominent products developed on Viction blockchain include:

VIC Scan: VIC Scan is the blockchain explorer designed for the Viction network, allowing users to monitor transactions, track balance changes, and perform on-chain searches on Viction. According to data from VIC Scan (November 21, 2023), the Viction network has processed over 900 million transactions with 3.7 million wallet addresses.
VIC Master: VIC Master is an application that displays information about the Masternodes within the Viction network. Additionally, users can participate in voting for Masternodes and review the current profits of these Masternodes.
Viction Wallet: Viction Wallet is a Web3 wallet that enables users to store assets, engage in transactions, and interact with dApps within the Viction network.
VIC Stats: VIC Stats is an application that provides statistics on gas fees, VIC Master (former Masternodes), and the number of nodes in the Viction network.
VIC Issuer: VIC Issuer is a platform that permits users to create tokens using the VRC25 token standard. Moreover, Viction Issuer also serves as the foundation for projects to interact with the VRC25Issuer contract, thereby implementing the Zero Gas feature for users.

The rebranding of the blockchain to Viction, accompanied by the Viction Horizon Hackathon program, demonstrates Ninety Eight commitment to innovation, ecosystem building, and development.
The Viction ecosystem has thrived in many DeFi sectors

Viction Horizon Hackathon Program

In addition to the ecosystem development fund, the Viction Horizon Hackathon contest is also a strategy for Viction to attract more developers to build and develop its ecosystem.
The Viction Horizon Hackathon program was launched on November 2, 2023, with a total prize pool of up to 300,000 USD. Winning projects in the competition will receive close support to continue their development and launch on the Viction blockchain.
Moreover, the projects participating in the Hackathon must be in areas where the Viction ecosystem has yet to develop products. This strategy ensures mutual benefits for both parties:

For the developers: The competing projects will receive advisory and support, both financially and development process, from experts on the advisory board of the contest. Moreover, if the project wins, they will be the pioneers in those fields within the Viction ecosystem and stand to gain significant potential.
For the Viction ecosystem: It broadens with innovative products and initiatives from participating projects.

The Viction Horizon Hackathon aims to find new developers and projects across the ecosystem

Token

Viction (VIC)

VIC is the native token on the Viction blockchain, a critical component of the Ninety Eight platform and ecosystem. The VIC token is utilized for paying network gas fees, engaging in project governance, DAOs, voting, and rewarding masternodes, among other things. In essence, anything related to the infrastructure layer, the network of foundational protocols, requires the VIC token.
The VIC token will serve as "the fundamental infrastructure to construct and amplify the synergistic power of the C98 Vision."
According to Mr. Vinh, Co-Founder of Ninety Eight
Ninety Eight's products are focused on multi-chain and cross-chain functionalities to attract users from every blockchain. However, the team prioritizes optimizing technologies and user experience on Viction. This approach is designed to create a funnel model that draws users and financial flows from all other blockchains towards Viction, thereby increasing the value of the VIC token.

Coin98 (C98)

C98 is a utility token that also serves as the central liquidity for the application layer of Ninety Eight. Accordingly, incentives from various products in the ecosystem are directed toward the C98 token. For instance, C98 is used as a reward for staking, purchasing NFTs on Dagora, for buying IDs on OneID, and for buying tickets to participate in the launchpad on Starship, among other uses.
Furthermore, the products within the Ninety Eight ecosystem, the Viction blockchain, and the VIC and C98 tokens all synergize and support each other in driving the growth of the entire ecosystem.

The C98-related products attract users from other blockchains to Viction.
Viction's technology brings more projects to build on Viction.
As Viction grows, the incentives from the above-mentioned products flow more toward the C98 token, increasing its utility and liquidity.
As the C98 token grows in value and utility, users engage more with products on the Viction blockchain to take advantage of the incentives that C98 offers.
As the Viction blockchain grows, the VIC token also experiences growth in tandem.

Moreover, C98 has established its credibility by being launched through Binance Launchpad and being listed on major exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, Bithumb, Bybit, Huobi, and Gate, with high liquidity.
C98 and VIC tokens closely support each other in the Ninety Eight ecosystem

CUSD

CUSD is the stablecoin on the Viction blockchain, issued by Stably and sponsored by Ninety Eight. It is a centralized stablecoin that is fully backed by the US Dollar (USD), which allows users to convert directly at a 1:1 ratio between CUSD and USD, USDC.
CUSD is developed based on the VRC25 standard and the Zero Gas Fee mechanism provided by the Viction blockchain, providing users with a seamless experience and the ability to transact CUSD without having to pay VIC for gas fees. In the future, CUSD will be extended to more chains to support Ninety Eight's cross-chain vision.
Previously known as Coin98 Dollar, CUSD was a decentralized stablecoin backed by other stablecoins including USDT, USDC, and BUSD. However, when Binance announced the cessation of support for the BUSD stablecoin and related products on November 29th, 2023, Ninety Eight decided to change the operational mechanism for Coin98 Dollar and develop the new CUSD version with several enhancements.
Explore more: What is CUSD? The backbone of the Viction ecosystem
CUSD's mechanism
Compared to the initial Coin98 Dollar version, this new CUSD version will provide greater stability, sustainability, and optimization for users. At this point, CUSD not only serves as a safe haven asset during times of high volatility in the crypto market, but also acts as the backbone for moving funds between dApps in the Viction ecosystem, or even between different blockchains with cross-chain objectives.

Wallet

Coin98 Super Wallet

Launched in 2020, the Coin98 Super Wallet is a non-custodial wallet with a focus on multi-chain capability, supporting over 70 blockchains. The wallet allows for the storage of most types of tokens and NFTs available on the market. One year after its release, Coin98 Super Wallet had attracted over 200,000 users globally across more than 20 countries. Up to the present, following 14 updates and several strategic realignments, the Coin98 Super Wallet has enhanced numerous features, improved its UX/UI, and now boasts a user base of millions worldwide.
Coin98 Super Wallet has undergone many updates and reorientations
The Coin98 Super Wallet stands as a pivotal product within the Ninety Eight ecosystem, serving as the gateway for users to access and engage with all other decentralized applications (dApps) in the environment, including:

Swap: Enabling to exchange of tokens across multiple chains.
SpaceGate: Facilitating convenient token transfers between chains.
OneID: Allowing users to register a single ID across multi-chain platforms.
Zen Card: Enhancing security capabilities via a mechanism that combines the benefits of both hot and cold wallets.
Browser: Incorporating a diverse range of dApps.
Reward Hubs: Playing games and earning rewards…

Ramper

Ramper is a Web3 wallet featuring social login and keyless entry that allows users to create an account and log in using their social media profiles such as Facebook, Email, or iCloud without the need for a 12-word passphrase or a private key.
Ramper, another product acquired by Ninety Eight in March 2023, will act as the primary layer of wallets within the ecosystem, facilitating a user-friendly and faster experience for individuals becoming acquainted with and utilizing a Web3 wallet. It can be considered a simplified version of the Coin98 Super Wallet, long anticipated by many users.
Ramper is a social wallet that allows users can access Web3 easily
However, involving a third-party platform such as social media may potentially limit the security features compared to those of the Coin98 Super Wallet. Therefore, as users become more accustomed to the Web3 environment, gain further market insight, and become more aware of associated security risks, they will likely transition to the Coin98 wallet. Concurrently, the value accrued from Ramper will also transfer to the Coin98 Super Wallet.

Zen Card

Zen Card is a hardware wallet that elevates user asset security by employing a hybrid mechanism of both hot and cold wallet features. The private key, once encrypted, is split into two segments: one is stored within the Coin98 Super Wallet, and the other resides within the hardware of the Zen Card.
Zen Card assimilates the strengths and eliminates the shortcomings of other crypto wallets, while its bank card-like design enhances asset storage, management, and security for users.
Zen Card: "Hybrid" wallet product between hot wallet and cold wallet
While existing cold wallet products are relatively expensive, with prices ranging from 50 USD to 250 USD, the estimated cost of the Zen Card falls within a more affordable range of 20 USD to 25 USD. This enables anyone to own a Zen Card to secure their assets, thereby promoting the widespread use of cryptocurrency in the market and the Web3 environment.

Fin Wallet & Ninji Wallet

In addition to the below wallets, Ninety Eight also supports open-source initiatives to assist other projects in developing specialized wallet products tailored for specific blockchains, such as:

Fin Wallet: The first cryptocurrency wallet dedicated to the Sei Network blockchain, which enables the storage, sending, and receiving of tokens; it also facilitates minting, managing, and collecting NFTs on Sei.
Ninji Wallet: The first specialized cryptocurrency wallet for the Injective ecosystem, which supports various features that allow users to store, manage, and stake tokens and NFTs across multiple platforms. Additionally, Ninji Wallet is integrated with numerous dApps, including Helix, Dagora, Hydro, Mito, and others.

DEX

Saros Finance

Saros Finance, a decentralized exchange (AMM DEX) built on the Solana blockchain in 2021, is one of the ecosystems that Ninety Eight has focused on developing and valued highly for its potential since its early days.
One distinctive feature of Saros Finance is its support for listing tokens on Solana at the earliest opportunity. It also offers diverse trading pools with a total liquidity value of 750,000 USD, a trading volume exceeding 70 million USD, and nearly 96,000 active wallets (data was counted as November 24, 2023).
Saros also integrates a DeFi product suite, allowing users to swap assets, optimize capital through various liquidity provision strategies, and engage in staking and farming. Additionally, it hosts a Trading Competition program for users to earn rewards.
Moreover, Saros Finance has been backed by several prominent funds, including Solana Ventures, Hashed, Spartan, GBV, among others.
Saros Finance is an AMM DEX deployed on the Solana blockchain

Baryon Network

Baryon Network is a DeFi platform that follows a multi-chain approach from Ninety Eight. It offers three main features: BaryonSwap, BaryonFarm, and BaryonStake and operates on three blockchain networks: BNB Chain, Viction, and Bitkub Chain. Baryon also regularly releases staking programs with Annual Percentage Rates (APR) ranging from 50% to 70% to help users generate profits. Additionally, it hosts trading contests with enticing prizes.
Baryon Network is a DeFi multi-chain platform with 3 main products: BaryonSwap, BaryonFarm and BaryonStake

GameFi

In the GameFi sector, Ninety Eight completed two acquisition deals for two projects in 2022:

Yunero Studios: A game studio established in 2021, Yunero will act as a “right-hand man” for Ninety Eight in the gaming industry. The team includes experts who have previously worked at leading traditional game companies such as VNG Corporation, Eway JSC, and Vega Corporation.
Cyball: A Web3 game in which players assemble CyBlocs, robotic characters, to compete against other teams through various online gameplay modes with a daily user count of 20,000 (according to data from Cyball).

Moving forward, Ninety Eight plans to introduce additional features and financial elements to their existing gaming projects which aims to develop new projects through the Ecosystem Fund and the previously mentioned Hackathon contest.

NFT Marketplace: Dagora

Dagora is a multi-chain NFT marketplace developed by Ninety Eight allowing users to participate in a launchpad, exchange, and trade various NFT collections on numerous blockchains. Currently, Dagora operates on six blockchains, including Viction, BNB Chain, Ethereum, Polygon, Sei, and Injective, with plans for expansion in the future.
Dagora has successfully released and sold out whitelist and public rounds for many prominent NFT series, such as Pyra Aliens, Watda F*sh, and SeiMyName from 1 to 3 days. Both NFT projects and users are able to mint and list NFTs on Dagora free of charge, with a transaction fee of 2%. The royalty fee remains customizable and flexible.
Within the Ninety Eight ecosystem, Dagora plays a crucial role in enhancing the utility of the C98 token, engaging in various activities on Dagora, including:

Marketplace: Allows users to list, purchase, and manage NFTs.
Launchpad: Enables projects to launch and release NFT collections.
Hot Drops: Permits users to mint NFTs for free from the Dagora NFT marketplace.

Dagora is a multi-chain NFT marketplace developed by Ninety Eight