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Currently, activity in the Web 3.0 space by CAICA DIGITAL, which is at the forefront of the digital finance sector, is more active than ever. Its subsidiary CAICA Financial Holdings launched Zaif INO, an NFT marketplace specialising in blockchain games, in November last year.
Zaif INO is a marketplace specialising in primary sales and provides users with high-quality NFTs by setting its own screening criteria for projects. Kaika Exchange, which operates the crypto asset exchange Zaif, has also seen a number of partnerships with domestic Web 3.0 companies since the end of last year.
Zaif is well known as a crypto asset exchange that allows trading of relatively rare stocks in Japan, including Kaika Coin (CICC). Kaika Exchange was established in 2016 and is still used by many users as a crypto asset exchange with a long history in the country.
The background to CAICA DIGITAL's declaration in October last year that the entire group would be entering the Web 3.0 business was the presence of GameFi, which could become a major movement: it is still fresh in our minds that STEPN, which took the world by storm in 2022, attracted a great deal of attention.
Japan is home to numerous IPs that are loved around the world. Games originating from Japan are also highly popular. In addition to these unique strengths, Japan is currently attracting increasing attention from the market as a country with the potential to lead the Web 3.0 movement, driven by the trend of regulations being tightened around the world.
The existence of cryptographic assets is inseparable from the promotion of Web 3.0. We therefore spoke to Hideki Ikeda, a key player in Zaif, one of CAICA DIGITAL's key businesses.
Mr Ikeda has been involved in numerous projects at leading companies in the Japanese financial industry. Having also worked as a director in charge of systems in blockchain businesses and crypto asset exchanges, what does Mr Ikeda think of Zaif's prospects and Web 3.0 in Japan?
--How does Ikeda-san, who is active at the heart of the industry, view the current state of crypto assets and the Web 3.0 domain in 2023 and what do you think will happen in the future?
Hideki Ikeda (Ikeda): While governments and financial institutions are tightening regulations, I believe that the crypto-asset community will move more towards decentralisation and freedom. The crypto asset market is still small and the entry of institutional investors and large companies will have a significant impact on new services, prices and liquidity.
Metaverse and Web 3.0 will have a positive impact on the cryptoasset market, token users and developers, with NFTs playing an important role and stimulating gaming and content.
Users will be able to take ownership and value of data and content, and Web 3.0 platforms will be deployed in various areas, such as social media, gaming and fashion.
In general, the crypto-asset market and the Web 3.0 domain will continue to develop rapidly and new business models and services are expected to emerge. However, on the other hand, there are still technical and legal issues that need to be addressed by the industry as a whole.
--What are the objectives of Kaika Exchange in pursuing alliances with various partners, such as in the payment and blockchain gaming domains? Also, please tell us about any services or initiatives that you would like to focus on through these alliances.
Ikeda: We are considering various alliances and projects to explore new possibilities for the exchange. Among them is the Web 3.0 payment service. Crypto assets can also be used as a means of payment, but there are still only a limited number of shops and services where they can be used.
We aim to solve technical issues such as remittance times, fees and small-value settlements, and develop services that enable quick and safe payments. Another area of focus is our work with Oasys.
This will lead to a project to introduce Oasys' Layer 2 chain to CICC, a crypto asset also handled by Zaif, to create new liquidity for CICC and lower the barriers to entry in the blockchain game.
--What do you think is necessary for Japan to lead the world in the Web 3.0 area and what do you think you can contribute to the development of the industry because you are Ikeda-san?
Ikeda: I believe that Japan has ample opportunities to lead the world in the Web 3.0 domain thanks to its advanced technological capabilities, strong industrial infrastructure, stable legal system and excellent education system. In the future, we need to focus on research and development of advanced technologies and training of human resources to produce advanced technologies.
In addition to this, we need to collaborate with industry in various fields and, in the Web 3.0 domain, which is a global market, we also need to interact internationally. An important way for Japan to differentiate itself from the rest of the world is to build a content IP-based Web 3.0.
Japanese content IP has gained global popularity for its creativity and uniqueness, and we believe that promoting Web 3.0 and Japanese content IP and developing and monetising various services, mainly in East Asia, such as AR, NFT, physical services (NFTTAG) and ticket sales, will lead to the development of the crypto asset industry. We believe that this will lead to the development of the crypto asset industry.
Hideki Ikeda
Hideki Ikeda has been involved in project management at a leading company in the Japanese financial industry and has led many projects to success. He also has extensive knowledge of technology strategy and architecture in the blockchain business field, and in recent years has been expanding his activities by becoming CTO of various corporations involved in blockchain and crypto asset exchanges.
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