crypto
Laser Digital, Nomura’s digital assets subsidiary, has launched the Laser Digital NEAR Adoption Fund. The Fund’s strategy seeks to provide a long-term exposure to the NEAR token enhanced with staking which allows institutional investors residing in eligible jurisdictions to participate in the blockchain consensus mechanism and take advantage
web3
Hitachi Payment Services has made a strategic minority investment in Spydra Technologies to develop and introduce innovative offerings in the rapidly evolving domains of Web 3.0, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and Blockchain Technology. Spydra is a low-code enterprise blockchain platform specializing in real-world asset tokenization. Spydra enables asset
accelerator
Aptos Horizon, a premier Web3 accelerator, is now accepting applications for its transformative 10-week program, scheduled to run from April 14 to June 23, 2025, in Osaka. Designed to empower ambitious Web3 teams from around the globe, Aptos Horizon offers an unparalleled platform to scale blockchain solutions and build meaningful
CBDC
The Bank of Papua New Guinea, in cooperation with the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and FinTech company Soramitsu, has successfully completed a proof of concept for the country's central bank digital currency (CBDC), Digital Kina. The Digital Kina's PoC utilizes cutting-edge technology
NFT
Mercari has launched "Mercari NFT" today, an online marketplace for NFTs on Mercari. The new service allows users to use Mercari to buy and sell popular NFTs available on OpenSea, a major NFT marketplace based in the US. This change kicks off the expansion of Mercari’s business
venture capital
Pacific Meta is a Tokyo-based company that provides end-to-end support as a “Web3 Accelerator” for Web3 projects both domestically and internationally. Pacific Meta supports companies and projects challenging the Web3 space by leveraging their specialized expertise in Web3 to offer assistance in fundraising, consulting, business development, and marketing. Additionally, they
NFT
NTT Digital has launched the “Hapiwell Ouendan (Happy & Wellness Cheering Team)” campaign in collaboration with 22 partner companies. Themed “Happy & Wellness,” this campaign is led by Sanrio’s popular unit “HAPIDANBUI” as the cheer captain, with participating companies joining as cheering team members to make the campaign more
blockchain
Kaia has integrated Fireblocks, an enterprise platform to manage digital asset operations and build innovative businesses on blockchain. The collaboration enables institutions to securely manage and transfer assets on the Kaia blockchain network, offering enhanced capabilities in tokenization, DeFi, and blockchain-based financial products. Fireblocks brings improved operational efficiency, reduced asset
blockchain
Komainu has raised $75 million in strategic investment from Blockstream Capital Partners, subject to relevant regulatory approvals. Komainu was launched in 2018 as a joint venture between Japanese bank Nomura, crypto security experts Ledger, and digital asset investment manager CoinShares. The funding enables Komainu to accelerate its international strategic growth
blockchain
The three blockchain-related companies under Sony Group, Sony Block Solutions Labs, S.BLOX, and SNFT, have announced the launch of the "Soneium" mainnet, along with an updated version of cryptoasset exchange services and an NFT issuance platform. As creators' activities diversify in the future, content on Web3
CBDC
Waseda University released the fifth episode of its English language podcast series “Rigorous Research, Real Impact”, covering “Central Bank Digital Currencies from a Japanese Legal Perspective”. In the following, we have summarized Professor Takashi Kubota's insights on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), focusing on the legal implications and
crypto
Binance Japan will begin handling three new cryptocurrencies for spot trading: * Pepe (PEPE) * Launch date: January 9, 2025 * Trading pair: PEPE/JPY * Network: Ethereum * Simple Earn: No * SEI (SEI) * Launch date: January 16, 2025 * Trading pairs: SEI/JPY, SEI/BTC, SEI/BNB * Network: SEI, SEIEVM * Simple Earn: Yes * IOTX (IOTX)