Expanding the solution of social issues through Web 3.0: DEA's first challenging year in history - Interview with DEA's Kozo Yamada

Please tell us your thoughts on the outlook for the Web3.0 field in 2025.

Kozo Yamada (hereinafter Yamada): I think that this year we will see an increase in practical use cases of Web3.0, and in particular, I am focusing on the DePIN (Distributed Physical Infrastructure Network) field. I think this will be a year in which players who have not been involved with Web3.0 until now will apply the methodology of the Web3.0 field to actual business.

I also think that the number of cases using stable coins in Japan will increase in earnest. With domestic cryptocurrency exchanges starting to handle stable coins, economic activities using stable coins will become more familiar.

Last year, "PicTrée" was a big topic both inside and outside the industry, winning the Good Design Award in 2024. Please tell us again about the response so far.

Yamada: I think that the presence of TEPCO was significant, and the fact that we were able to work on it with their full cooperation led to success.

The concept of PicTrée is to use two elements, gamification and rewards, to motivate action and encourage people to take the right action that someone desires. We received cooperation from people who actually inspect utility poles in the field, and by pooling a variety of knowledge, we think we were able to strike a good balance between gameplay, rewards, and social contribution.

In recent years, there has been an increase in digital tools for reporting deficiencies in town, so while this isn't a pioneering invention, I feel that the good balance has led to it receiving good reviews.

Yamada, are there any reviews you've received from users who have actually played PicTrée that have made an impression on you?