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What do you think about the current state of the Web 3.0 field?
Kimio Mikazuki (hereinafter Mikazuki): Web 3.0 started with crypto assets using blockchain technology, and various functions have been implemented on public blockchains, with various "values" being linked to tokens, allowing for instant mutual exchanges and transfers, bringing about a function that has been called a revolution in value transfer.
Originally digital data, crypto assets have been traded mainly for investment purposes, and crypto asset exchanges serve as gateways for exchange with real currency, but mechanisms such as DeFi, which allow exchanges between crypto assets and stable coins without going through these, have also been implemented on blockchains. In addition, NFTs, which represent various rights such as game tokens and art as rights to own and use data, and tokens linked to real asset values called RWAs (Real World Assets), have been issued, and I believe that the fact that these clearly position data generated by various economic activities as owned by users, is an innovative event in the history of the development of the Internet.
On the other hand, the incentive for users who hold tokens is still mostly for the profit of "profit from price rises", with the exception of some such as stable coins. In this situation, it will be used only by a limited number of users who are familiar with the characteristics of blockchain and are accustomed to operating wallets. In essence, in order to make the "revolution in data sovereignty and value transfer" widely accepted by the general public, use cases other than speculation are essential, and I believe that various projects will continue to explore such use cases in the future.
What kind of appeal do you want to deliver through your company's projects and services, and what do you want to achieve?
Mikazuki: In Japan, the definitions are clear: crypto assets, security tokens, stable coins, and others (NFTs, etc.), and our company is responsible for the secondary market for securities and security tokens, which are considered to be the most regulated of these.
In the field of Web 3.0 projects, we often hear that the tokens issued are designed to be neither crypto assets nor security tokens so as not to fall under regulations. Such a design is possible for creative content such as games that have value in the form of simple electronic data, but in the world of RWA, the existence of a "trusted institution that links real-world assets with tokens" is essential. Therefore, it is difficult to utilize the characteristics of Web 3.0 as is.
Within these constraints, we would like to create a world that is as Web 3.0-like as possible, where value exchange between all kinds of tokens is seamless and legally possible, even in the flow of "issuance, investment, transfer, exchange, redemption" for security tokens.
◉ Kimio Mikazuki
CEO of Osaka Digital Exchange Co., Ltd.
He built up a foundation in corporate finance at Aozora Bank, and was involved in a wide range of venture and acquisition investments at ITX (formerly an IT business investment company affiliated with Nissho Iwai). From 2019 to 2020, he was the head of the ICO business department/COO of BITPoint Japan (Chairman of the ICO/STO division of the Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association (JCBA)). Since 2020, he has been involved in the first corporate bond and real estate STO projects at SBI Securities, and has been the CEO of Osaka Digital Exchange since its establishment in 2021.
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