[AMA] 2022 MiL.k x KuCoin AMA Highlight
Q1. Introduce yourself and your company?
Hi all, Thanks for inviting me to the Kucoin community. I’m Samuel Yun, Chief Business Officer at MiL.k team. I used to work in business development, partnership, and international business and spent years building IT-based businesses at countries like China, India, Sri Lanka, Kuwait, etc. After I joined the MiL.k project, I successfully built the project by making partnerships with top services like Yanolja, CU, Interpark, Megabox, etc. Currently, I’m leading the business team to drive fast growth of MiL.k service globally.
Our company was founded about 4 years ago in Seoul, Korea as a blockchain developer and we have been successfully developing our main service, MiL.k project to grow up as one of the representative rewards Integration platform in Korea.
MiL.k is a rewards integration platform that connects many lifestyle, travel, and leisure services with Milk Coin (MLK). Since its official launch in 2020, MiL.k has earned over 1M users and achieved to create loyalty ecosystem with leading companies in Korea. Taking advantage of this momentum, we are implementing concrete plans to expand our global partnerships and NFT and Defi project as well.
Our goal is to bring blockchain technology into users’ everyday life, allowing them to benefit from increased convenience and useful services. We are confident that MiL.k is moving closer to our vision, and we will do everything we can to provide superior service.
Q2. Could you explain about MiL.k and Milk Coin (MLK)?
MiL.k is a blockchain-based rewards integration platform that connects lifestyle, travel, and leisure services with platform’s key currency, Milk Coin (MLK). Users can integrate their scattered points into a single asset, Milk Coin (MLK) and with Milk Coin (MLK), users can purchase MiL.k partners’ points at a discounted rate.
Milk Coin (MLK) is currently listed on KuCoin, Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone, and the MiL.k service app or MiL.k platform is available on Google Play and the App Store. On the app, Yanolja, Shinsegae Duty Free, CU, Interpark, Megabox, and Jin Air are aligned and available for users. As a global platform, we will do our best to develop better services and expand partnerships. So, please look forward to it!
Q3. What are the benefits of using MiL.k for customers?
MiL.k allows you to enjoy various benefits by integrating scattered rewards points. You can combine many different rewards into one asset, Milk Coin (MLK) which greatly increases the usability of your points. You may use Milk Coin (MLK) to buy various rewards points with discount or simply cash it out at crypto exchanges. Overall, the utility of your rewards points that were previously scattered and had low utilities can be much greater with MiL.k and its offered benefits.
In addition to the point utility increase, there are more features on the MiL.k app. Those are MiL.k Pack and Coupon Payment. MiL.k Pack is a new staking service where you can cancel your deposit at any time. It is a weekly-basis staking program with generally over 10% annual interest rates. MiL.k Coupon Payment feature offers different kinds of mobile coupons on MiL.k app. Users can buy coupons for coffee, pizza, hamburger, fried chicken, and so forth in Milk Coin (MLK) with discounts.
In collaborations with our partners, users can also participate in fun and interesting events. When our convenience store partner, CU had a plan for NFT-related events, we arranged them with our NFT brand, ARTNETIC. Consequently, one of the most famous NFT artist LAYLAY from ARTNETIC and CU collaborated on the event where CU gave away 314 NFTs to event participants. This was so loved that it recorded a competition ratio of 73:1.
We’re working hard to make MiL.k providing more enjoyable and fulfilling experiences and hope that more users will love it.
Q4. Partnership appears to be crucial. What is the status of your collaboration, and what are your plans for growing it?
In 2021, MiL.k successfully expanded its ecosystem with leading companies such as Jin Air (LCC brand of Korean Air), Interpark (№1 ticket reservation service), CU (№1 convenience store), and Megabox (Representative multiplex), including initial partners Yanolja (№1 OTA service) and Shinsegae Duty Free (DF brand of retail giant Shinsegae group).
This year, MiL.k aims to expand its global business, especially as the first year of its expansion into Southeast Asia. We are currently discussing partnerships with various local and global companies, and we hope that users will be able to freely use domestic and foreign services and enjoy more diverse benefits in line with the increasing demand for overseas travel as Covid situation is getting better. Milk’s borderless service scene will be as follows.
Let’s say I’m going on a vacation abroad. Before departure, I would buy my plane ticket and make hotel reservation through OTA services like Yanolja. I might do some shopping at a duty free shop like Shinsegae. Then, upon arrival, I would use multiple local services like mobility, dining, shopping, and so forth. At this time, my rewards points gained from Yanolja and Shinsegae can be converted into Milk Coin (MLK), and then to the local services’ points through MiL.k platform.
MiL.k will add these local services to the alliance so that the whole journey of our customers can consist of MiL.k’s partner services. This way, our Korean users can utilize their rewards primarily earned in Korea overseas, and vise versa, local users in the global market can do the same when they come to Korea.
Q5. Speaking of MiL.k app’s features, would you elaborate on the app’s main features showing some screens of the app?
We recently updated our app in order to provide better services, and some of the features have been improved. Let me explain each one with screen captures.
:On the bottom of the main screen, there are four tabs. When you click the wallet tab, it switches to the wallet screen. You can check your Milk Coin (MLK) balance and value in fiat in real time. In addition, you can send and receive Milk Coin (MLK) using the QR code or the address of your wallet. You can also check your transaction history by clicking the ‘history’ tab.
:In the center of the main screen, there is exchange points section. By clicking MiL.k Partners’ tab, you can check your rewards point balance and the current discount rate for the point. This information is to be updated every 30 seconds.
: This feature used to be on the main screen, but it’s now on the wallet screen’s right top. You may get 0.05 MLK per day by clicking the icon. The reward will be paid to your wallet every month from the 1st to the 10th.
:When you click Market tab on the bottom of the screen, it switches to Market screen. On the bottom of the Market screen, there is a coupon payment section. Two products are sold every day at noon in Korea time, and you can buy them through Milk Coin (MLK) with a discounted price. You can buy a variety of products including coffee, bread, hamburgers, pizza, and chicken with milk coins.
: This is a brand-new feature. There’s a Bridge tab at the bottom of the MiL.k wallet screen where you can convert MLK to WMLK. To improve MLK’s scalability, we’ve released WMLK, an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token that can be stored in an Ethereum wallet and transferred to the Ethereum chain over the bridge.
Our service and app features will continue to evolve, and we hope you enjoy them.
Q6. How does the MiL.k platform allow for a discount?
One of our user benefits is a discounted price for purchasing rewards through the MiL.k platform. You’ll get a discount if you use Milk Coin (MLK) to buy rewards on the MiL.k app. The lowest discount rate is 0 percent, while the highest discount rate is 40%. The highest rate will be discussed with each vendor, but we anticipate it to be around 30%. For specific instances, the actual discount rate would be applied in real time according to the supply & demand algorithm. That is, if more users buy point A, the discount rate of it will be decreased.
Let’s say I just got back from a travel that I purchased with an OTA service (Yanolja). I’ve got $50 worth of points from the travel, but then I don’t have a plan for another travel in the next months. With MiL.k platform, I can sell this point for Milk Coin (MLK) because I can do more things with it such as buying other points for convenience store (CU). Let’s say the current discount rate of Yanolja point is 10%. Then, I can sell my points (worth $50) and get Milk Coin $45 worth of Milk Coin. Thus, I’m providing discounts in exchange for Milk Coin’s utility. This is how the discount is possible on the MiL.k app: Point selling users are willing to sell their points with discounts to get higher utility of Milk Coin (MLK), and so, point buying users can enjoy discounts using Milk Coin.
To summarize, Milk Coin (MLK) allows you to combine many different rewards and also use it to purchase rewards points with discounts.
Q7. I would like to ask you about your plans for the near future, milestones in 2022.
This year will be our first year of entry into Southeast Asian market and our goal for 2022 is to expand and strengthen partnerships with both local and global companies. To that aim, we are aggressively investing on human resources to develop and support service localization as well as business and technological development. Currently, we are actively disccusing partnerships with certain gloal companies, and listing Milk Coin (MLK) on global CEXs is also being considered as part of our global expansion strategies. In addition, we are looking into investment opportunities in Southeast Asian startups with The Ventures, a professional investment firm focusing on Southeast Asia. MiL.k’s global expansion will not only about partnerships, but also about creating a global ecosystem that enables borderless services.
Random questions
Q. Reward integration is not a new concept. What would you say are the differentiators of your project?
Unlike past rewards integration concepts, MiL.k users can buy and sell various rewards points with discounts with Milk Coin (MLK). When they do so, all the necessary information such as the current value of Milk Coin (MLK) and discount rates of each point will be available for users so that they can get the most benefits out of the service.
Blockchain technology enables this points trading scheme as well as establishing mutual credibility between service partners. Because the data from a company’s rewards program can contain highly sensitive sales information, it’s usually difficult to connect various companies that differ in terms of sector, service, type of business, or even country of origin. However, on the MiL.k platform, all transactions are recorded on ledgers and encrypted on a blockchain. So, Companies don’t have to worry about any data leakage and can get benefit from the alliance’s synergies.
Finally, technology helps to form global alliances. Blockchain has no borders, and cryptocurrency has no nationality. As a result, when we form relationships with global companies and publish Milk Coin (MLK) on global exchanges, users in Korea will be able to trade their rewards gained from Korean services to Milk Coin (MLK) and buy rewards from international services for future use. This is possible because blockchain is a global infrastructure.
Q. Recently, many marketing activities with MiL.k have gained popularity. Please introduce some of them and explain your future plans.
Recently, we did a lot of interesting marketing activities with big companies and received a lot of attention. The most representative case could be collaboration with CU which is the №1 convenience store in Korea.
With CU, we produced collaborative products such as sandwiches and lunch boxes (i.e. MiL.k sandwich). When consumers purchased the products, they could acquire a unique code by scratching it off the package. The code could then be entered into the MiL.k app so that users could get Milk Coin (MLK) rewards on the app. With the event, tens of thousands of CU stores nationwide sold the products, and in fact, the sales of the sandwiches and lunch boxes increased.
CU also ran a raffle with our NFT brand, ARTNETIC to give away 314 NFTs created by popular NFT artist LAYLAY. Consumers who purchased products and earned its points were to get a chance to win the NFT. This event became extremely popular, with a 73:1 competition ratio.
Just like this case, we are encouraging various marketing activities utilizing our service partnerships. We will bring more joy and benefits with fresh and interesting events.
Q. Could you please elaborate on NFT project?
As many of you know, our recent NFT raffle event in cooperation with CU was a huge success. We are currently working with our partners on several NFT projects, as well as developing our own project through our NFT brand, ARTNETIC. ARTNETIC is an art label that supports from well-known artists like Charles Chang and Noh Jun to newly debuting ones with various backgrounds to perform and create NFTs. We are working on projects such as Cyberband №402, which will have its debut within the first half of this year and NFT membership program, which will support many services with needs for membership programs. We will announce and introduce about these projects more in detail, so please stay tuned!
Q. Recently, WMLK has been launched. Can you explain the difference between MLK and WMLK?
WMLK is an ERC-20 coin that stands for Wrapped Milk Coin. Milk Coin (MLK) is a Hyperledger fabric-based coin that cannot be utilized on an Ethereum-based chain. So, in order to increase scalability, we decided to develop a bridge that can wrap MLK into WMLK and allow our users to send WMLK to an Ethereum-based wallet. WMLK is already listed on Uniswap, one of the largest DEXs, and has plans to use it in a variety of environments. Furthermore, you may worry if the total supply of MLK will be affected by WMLK, however only MLK can be wrapped to WMLK, thus the total supply will not be affected.
Q. Each point has their own expiration date. How MiL.k manage the point expiration date and what are the restructions for the expiration date?
When a user sells its points on the MiL.k app, the points’ original expiry no longer applies. When the points are bought on the app by other users, fresh expiration will be applied upon the purchase. Each point’s expiration policy has been discussed and decided with each service partner, and the policy applies fairly to all users.
