digital assets
Web3 Investing hosted SBI Digital Markets Chief Operating Officer CK Ong to discuss the potential for 2025 to be a pivotal year for the cryptocurrency and tokenization space. We have listed the highlights of the conversation here, and encourage you to listen to the full recording. CK provides insights based
regulation
During January 2025, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) met with the industry associations for major banks, regional banks, shinkin banks, trust banks, securities dealers, and investment trusts. 1. Common Topics Across Industries Several key themes emerged consistently across the FSA's discussions with different financial industry sectors: 1.1
neobank
Osaka-based Senshu Ikeda Holdings, a financial services group that offers banking, securities, leasing, and other services, has been granted a banking license for its digital "01Bank". Senshu Ikeda disclosed its intention to launch a digital bank business in September 2023, and established a preparatory entity in February
population
In a research note, NLI Research analyzed the 2024 domestic migration trends, when 40 out of 47 prefectures in Japan experienced a "social decrease," meaning a net loss of population due to domestic migration (people moving out exceeding people moving in). Only 7 prefectures had a social increase.
mergers & acquisitions
State Street and Mizuho Financial Group have entered into an agreement for State Street to acquire Mizuho’s global custody and related businesses outside of Japan. These businesses support the overseas investments of Mizuho’s Japanese clients. Mizuho currently operates its global custody and related business outside of Japan through
ethereum
Fracton Ventures is Japan's first Cryoto-specialized incubator, proclaiming itself to be a "Protocol Studio for Ethereum." In 2021, the year of its founding, and the following year in 2022, "Fracton Incubation 2021/2022 Powered by bitbank" was held, and a total of 18
carbon
Nomura Securities has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Shonaikomekobo Corporation for a business collaboration aimed at promoting decarbonization and enhancing agriculture using biochar. Shonaikomekobo is a group of farmers and agricultural successors from the Shonai region of Yamagata Prefecture in Japan engaged in rice cultivation and other agricultural
venture capital
Announced today, Gojo & Company has acquired a 9.0% stake in CJSC Bank Arvand, a commercial bank in Tajikistan, in November 2024. This is Gojo's second investment in the country following the investment in CJSC MDO “HUMO” in 2021. Arvand is the fourth largest financial institution, including
asset management
Taking advantage of the Tokyo Stock Exchange's “Action to Implement Management that is Conscious of Cost of Capital and Stock Price”, Fivestar Asset Management today launches the Capital Efficiency Improvement Fund (Nickname: "TOB Hunter"), an open-ended, additional type fund investing in domestic (Japanese) equities. The
trading
AlpacaTech, a subsidiary of FOLIO Holdings that provides innovative financial solutions as part of the SBI Group, has begun providing Japanese and US stock news data owned by Minkabu The Infonoid and its subsidiary Minkabu Solution Services on the Snowflake Marketplace. Snowflake is currently accelerating its adoption as a data
stablecoin
Plasma has raised $24M across their Seed and Series A, led by Framework and Bitfinex/USD₮0. Other participants include global leaders in the stablecoin and payments industry—DRW/Cumberland, Bybit, Flow Traders, 6th Man Ventures, IMC, Nomura, Karatage—as well as industry-leading angels and advisors including Paolo Ardoino,
trade finance
MUFG Bank has completed its first fully-digitalised trade finance transaction from its GIFT City Branch for a subsidiary of Tata International, the global trading arm of the Tata Group. Utilising the Contour Network Hub from Xalts, MUFG and Tata International's Singapore treasury centre digitally negotiated, prepared, applied,