TADA’s parent company, Mass Vehicle Ledger (MVL), generated a revenue of 27.5 million SGD in 2022, with its crypto business accounting for 37% of the total revenue.
During Token2049, TADA, an app, seemed to have overshadowed Grab, Southeast Asia’s largest ride-hailing platform, as the preferred choice of transportation for attendees in the cryptocurrency industry.
TADA’s invitation link circulated in various cryptocurrency chat groups. In Singapore, where the starting price is an average of 50 SGD, choosing TADA sometimes costs only a fraction of what Grab charges. Based on BlockBeats’ test, taking a regular car from Changi Airport to Marina Bay Sands would cost about 112 RMB (20.5 SGD) with Grab, while TADA would only cost about 84 SGD, a difference of around 25%.
TADA offered a subsidy of 60 SGD for the first 4,000 users who used the TADA Telegram Mini App for rides during the Token2049 conference. Afterward, these users would enjoy a 50% discount on their rides, just like other Mini App users. BlockBeats estimated that TADA’s subsidy cost during the 5-day period was at least 600,000 SGD (equivalent to 3 million RMB).
For a small ride-hailing platform, it is uncommon to provide such a large cash subsidy. Interestingly, the large subsidy did not translate into a significant increase in the usage of TADA’s mobile app. To be eligible for the subsidy, users had to use TADA’s recently launched Telegram Mini App and make payments through the TON wallet using $TON or $USDT. The experience of using TADA’s Telegram Mini App for rides was similar to using WeChat Mini Program. Users could choose the type of vehicle and payment method. However, it is worth noting that users were unable to choose credit card payment, and the driver’s app displayed the user’s payment type as “bank card payment.”
According to TADA’s official website, the platform does not charge drivers any commission except for financial payment costs, such as bank card fees. All the fare goes to the drivers. However, some drivers mentioned to BlockBeats that TADA actually does charge a certain percentage of commission, but it is the lowest among all ride-hailing platforms in Singapore.
BlockBeats learned that TADA charges drivers as follows: no platform fee for fares below 7 SGD, 0.6 SGD platform fee for fares between 7 and 18 SGD, and 0.8 SGD platform fee for fares above 18 SGD. This means that drivers only pay a maximum of 8.6% of their earnings for each trip and can retain a larger proportion of their income during long trips. In comparison, mainstream ride-hailing platforms like Grab charge around 20% commission.
TADA’s “zero commission” model has gained recognition among Singapore’s ride-hailing drivers. Many drivers from platforms like Grab or Gojek reported that their income has decreased recently due to lower order prices on those platforms. Although the number of orders for TADA drivers has decreased, their income has not been significantly affected. During Token2049, the original price for using TADA Mini App to travel from the city center to the airport was about 30 SGD, which is 60% more expensive than the average cost of 20 SGD on the Grab platform. Users can enjoy more favorable prices only after applying the 50% discount.
The high platform income and low fare prices have raised questions about the source and sustainability of TADA’s subsidies. Many users understand that this situation will not last forever unless TADA finds another way to generate revenue. At the time of writing, Singaporean users can no longer enjoy the 50% ride subsidy through TON Network payment.
Interestingly, many people mistakenly think of TADA as a traditional ride-hailing platform when they first use it. It was not until they saw TADA’s booth at the main venue of Token2049 that they realized it is actually a blockchain company.
MVL, TADA’s parent company, was founded in 2018 by Kay Kyeongsik Woo, who previously founded the South Korean travel application easi6. Unlike traditional ride-hailing platforms, MVL positioned itself as a blockchain company from the beginning and explored ride-hailing services through models such as no platform commission and token-based incentives. With the growth of TADA’s business, MVL has grown into a company with over 300 employees, covering various sectors including travel services, automobile manufacturing, energy, and data.
The ride-hailing market in Singapore is highly competitive. According to data from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) of Singapore, the number of taxis has decreased by more than half since reaching a peak of 28,736 vehicles in 2014, dropping to a new low of 13,330 vehicles in May this year. Meanwhile, the number of private hire cars (including self-drive rentals and ride-hailing) has increased from 18,847 vehicles to 84,413 vehicles during the same period, a growth of 347%.
Currently, Grab, GoJek (GoTo), Zig (CDG), TADA, and Ryde are the five ride-hailing platforms licensed by the LTA. In the first quarter of 2022, Grab had a market share of 50%, while TADA only had about 10%.
However, TADA’s market position has gradually gained an advantage in the competition. In 2023, according to documents submitted to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore, MVL’s revenue increased from 6.3 million SGD in 2021 to 27.5 million SGD in 2022, and the company’s losses decreased from 9.7 million SGD in 2021 to 5.4 million SGD in 2022, a reduction of nearly 45%. More than half of the revenue came from travel and delivery services, while the crypto business accounted for 37% of the total revenue. In the first quarter of 2024, with the expansion into the Thai market, TADA’s CEO Sean Kim announced that TADA had become the second-largest ride-hailing platform in terms of the number of rides in Singapore. TADA’s expansion plans also include the Hong Kong and South Korean markets.
MVL has been one of the pioneers in exploring and promoting the application of cryptocurrencies. However, TADA’s business has faced challenges in the development of “Web3 consumer applications”.
The successful attempt of the Telegram Mini App is a new project launched by TADA in recent months, specifically targeting participants in various Web3 activities in Southeast Asia. Prior to this, TADA had tried various user acquisition activities, such as “Take TADA rides and earn Bitcoin” and “Invite friends to join TADA and earn Bitcoin”. However, the team found it extremely difficult and costly to convince users who have never encountered cryptocurrencies to buy them just for ride-hailing purposes.
Before launching the Telegram Mini App, MVL considered providing Web3 services to ride-hailing drivers as its main business. These services included providing drivers with multi-chain wallets and DeFi products, offering optimized routes through data analysis using the DePIN data map, and providing reasonably priced vehicles through the RWA Vehicle Project. However, these efforts failed to make a significant impact in the market.
Therefore, starting from Web3 users and promoting on-chain payments became the core appeal of MVL’s team for launching the Telegram Mini App during the TOKEN2049 conference. On the one hand, there was a significant increase in travel demand during the conference, and on the other hand, the pricing on platforms like Grab was higher than that of TADA under the subsidy policy, giving users the motivation to seek cost-effectiveness. However, as the subsidy activity ends, what will be TADA’s competitiveness compared to Grab in terms of ride prices?
