Please tell us your thoughts on the outlook for the Web 3.0 field in 2025.
Tatsuya Saito (hereinafter, Saito): As a premise, I think it is better not to think of it in the category of “Web 3.0”. The irreversible global trends are “maximizing productivity through AI agents” and “maximizing capital management efficiency in light of rising interest rates”. As a result, the need for financial programmability (can it be moved digitally across borders, 24/365) is becoming more and more recognized both domestically and internationally, and “tokenization of RWA (real-world assets)” as a means to achieve this will accelerate.
In the opposite direction to this movement, that is, from the world of blockchain to the world of finance, the financialization of Bitcoin and other financial products (ETFs) will also progress, but the more core people are, the more resistant they may be to being lumped in with “Web 3.0”. In Japan, the discussion on redefining regulations and licenses triggered by the “financialization of crypto assets” will be solidified by the end of the year, so we should pay close attention to this as a party involved rather than a bystander.
In the "Digital Securities (ST) Market Outlook 2025" announced at the beginning of the year, you predicted a significant expansion of the ST market size and expressed your expectations for new token assets. Please tell us again what areas you are paying attention to.
Saito: Real estate continues to be the driving force for RWA targeted for tokenization. As real estate ST, which has a product characteristic different from REITs and the like, stimulates strong demand, the entire domestic real estate investment market in 2024 will exceed 4 trillion yen for the first time in four years, and is predicted to remain at the same pace this year. With the maturity of the sales channel, securities companies, and the investors beyond them, we can also expect to see the tokenization of "ultra-large real estate."
In addition, with the trust tax reform that was won despite causing a temporary stagnation, the expansion of the target RWA itself is also attracting attention.