A layer-1 blockchain developed by the US blockchain company Ava Labs that enables high-speed, low-cost transactions. It also has excellent decentralization and has shown remarkable growth worldwide. It is currently focusing on expansion in Japan, and cases of adoption by large companies are increasing.
What made you decide to enter the Web 3.0 field?
Hirata Roy (hereinafter, Roy): I didn't originally want to enter this field. If anything, it would be better to say that I was forced to enter it. I was originally running a lifestyle brand and travel goods business, but the situation was not good due to the impact of the new coronavirus.
In that situation, my best friend from university told me, "Maybe you should buy Bitcoin." I had heard various stories about Bitcoin since around 2017, but personally, it seemed like a scam to me. However, my best friend from university said, "Why would you want to receive your salary in fiat (legal tender)?"
From my perspective, I couldn't understand why someone living in a developed country would have Bitcoin, even if they were in an emerging developing country with currency instability. However, I thought it would be strange to criticize without studying, so I started by buying Bitcoin.
What did you specifically study?
Roy: I mainly read the Bitcoin white paper. I never had any problem with reading English or technical papers, and I also had the idea of using it as a kind of branding. I thought that maybe I might do business in the crypto field in the future, so I started a room called "Read Bitcoin Papers at Night" on Clubhouse, which was popular at the time.
I was surprised that 11 people gathered in the room I started even though I had no followers, even though it was the middle of the night. When I streamed the same content the next day, 17 people gathered. At that time, I felt that there was a need for this, and decided to do something with Web 3.0.
Roy, you are the Head of Japan of Ava Labs, but where did you first meet Avalanche?
Roy: At the time, I was studying various blockchains widely, and in the process, I read a white paper, which was the trigger. I read all the major blockchain white papers, and Avalanche's vision was written in detail and they had thought out innovation.
Also, when I moved my base of operations from Clubhouse to Twitter (now X) at that time, a post that mentioned Avalanche happened to be popular. This may be because there was no one posting information about Avalanche at the time. From there, the number of posts about Avalanche increased as a result of optimizing, and I established my image as "Roy of Avalanche". That can be said to be the origin of my current activities.
Is it because of that past that you were asked to become Head of Japan?
Roy: I didn't have any particular desire to become Head of Japan, but I did have a desire to work on a major project. In the midst of all of this, Avalanche fans asked me to start an unofficial Avalanche community in Japan in 2022.
Avalanche is certainly a good project, but there is little activity in Japan. I also recognize that Avalanche is one of the key positions in Web 3.0, and I thought that it would not be in the national interest if there was no presence in Japan.
I also thought that if I was going to be active, I had to set a goal, and I decided to aim for this unofficial community to be recognized by Ava Labs, the ecosystem, and the whole world. I thought to myself, "If all goes well, someone will reach out to me," but I was approached much sooner than I expected.
It was around that time that Ava Labs was talking about setting up a regional team. They were initially going to expand into Asia, including Korea and Japan, and one of the original members of Ava Labs asked me if I wanted to try being Head of Japan. He was a very hard worker and sometimes made unreasonable requests, but I saw this as an opportunity.
I felt that meeting expectations here was the key for someone without a track record. I was recognized there, and after going through the selection process, I ended up in my current position.
Please tell us your role as Head of Japan and the difficulties you have faced while working there.
Roy: The mission I was given at first was to "popularize Avalanche in Japan." I am in charge of all the strategy and team building. Right now, we are focusing on the four corners of Othello in the Japanese market. Specifically, there are four: payment, content, manufacturers, and point services.
In the first place, I think that the biggest problem in the Web 3.0 field, regardless of Avalanche, is that daily payments are not on the blockchain. In order to spread Web 3.0 from now on, we must overcome the barrier of payment. Otherwise, Web 3.0 will become an area that only a few people use.
Next, content is a pillar because Japan has strengths such as anime and manga, and it is compatible with blockchain.
The third manufacturer is based on Japanese manufacturing. It is easy to overlook, but for example, if there is a market for Pokemon cards, tokenization there is done by an intermediary. However, unless the manufacturer itself performs tokenization, trust will not be created.
Otherwise, the market will be influenced against the manufacturer's will, and uncertainty will increase. Therefore, the most important point is for manufacturers to tokenize what they themselves have created. I believe that if this is properly established, it will ultimately lead to the spread of content.
Finally, the point is that Japan has a points market of 3 trillion yen. Japan is probably the only country in the world that has such a large market for points. Point activities are unique to Japan and are one of its major strengths. My current top priority is to grasp the four corners of Othello that I have mentioned so far.
On the other hand, the difficulty is that these four corners are intricately intertwined. For example, it is difficult for users to give points to a point service without content. In addition, the content itself requires the manufacturer's permission, and there is no reason for manufacturers to introduce special blockchain-based payment. In this way, when you try to do one thing, the threads become intricately tangled, and it is very difficult to order how to unravel them.
The timing of where to take these four corners is also difficult.
Roy: You need to carefully read the board and understand what kind of situation Japan is in now. Sometimes taking that corner can be a bad move. In particular, trying to control settlement is the most important thing, but if you can take this, I think the other corners will be solved neatly. Therefore, among these four corners, we are currently focusing on settlement.
Please tell us what you think are the attractions and strengths of Avalanche from your perspective.
Roy: One of the attractions is that they already have the technical capabilities to meet the needs of Japan and the world that I have mentioned so far. In short, I am a salesman who promotes Avalanche, and from a salesman's perspective, it is very easy to sell a product when you know it is strong. Avalanche is an infrastructure that was originally created with the goal of "digitizing all assets in the world."
Being able to handle various infrastructures around the world is a strength that no other company has. Another big point is that it can handle all kinds of regulations. When various assets from around the world are put on-chain, it is of course important to be aware that regulations differ from country to country.
In this way, Avalanche's appeal and strength from my perspective is its high performance, ability to comply with Japanese regulations, and ability to flexibly respond to needs.
Please tell us what barriers you feel are in spreading Avalanche in Japan.
Roy: I feel it is strongly about culture. The Japanese market tends to dislike first penguins and not take risks. Of course, there are risk takers, but the most difficult point for people who run projects is how to connect with these "risk takers."
We also want to work with people who will take on the challenge and bring Avalanche to implementation, and things won't move forward without such people. For example, large companies are not naturally willing to take risks. However, there are also supermen among them who are willing to take risks. On the other hand, if you connect with such people, they will try to fully understand the invisible innovation that is blockchain and will allocate internal resources.
Also, Avalanche itself is still not 100% compatible with Japanese regulations and the environment, so we consider that to be an issue. Since this was a problem, we have already expanded our Japanese tech support since October last year and secured Japanese engineers.
From your past stories, I get the impression that you place importance on spreading Avalanche to new users, but also have a strong desire to "cherish the people who are using it now." Please tell us the reason for this.
Roy: First of all, the current Web 3.0 field is in its early stages, so those who are entering the field are early adopters. In other words, they are taking a risk. We must not forget how important it is to take risks, especially in Japan, and I think it is necessary to show the determination to accept that weight.
This can be said to be my philosophy on business, but we should show respect for those who take risks. Especially in this early stage, it is not something that will come as a matter of course to gain users. I think it is important to continue to communicate that we are where we are today because of the support of businesses and users who are taking that much risk.
Please tell us about Avalanche's future prospects and your own goals.
Roy: My goal is to spread Avalanche to as many people as possible. We will steadily move forward with what we can do and realize various things. This word "realization" is not a light word, and we are prepared to work together as a whole ecosystem, no matter how dirty it may be. In Japan, we would like to first identify the parts that are connected to the national interest and show the meaning of using blockchain.
This is not limited to Avalanche, but I think that projects that can present blockchain as a solution that neatly solves current problems should be supported. Doing so will create content that is understandable to the general public, leading to the spread of Web 3.0 and blockchain.
I personally do not intend to rush the mass adoption of Web 3.0, and I believe that before that, a change in the consciousness of many people is necessary. It is important to launch the product that is most in demand when the time is ripe, and I hope that Avalanche can be the first to release it.
◉ Hirata Roi
AvaLabs Head of Japan
Graduated from the Department of Physics at the University of Melbourne. Former professional gamer. Launched a brand at the intersection of e-sports and lifestyle, and successfully completed crowdfunding. Entered the cryptocurrency industry in 2020. Served as the official Asia/Japan advocate for the blockchain Oracle Chainlink until 2022. Became Japan representative for Ava Labs, the developer of Avalanche, in January 2023.
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