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WhaleFin entered the market last year as the Japanese subsidiary of Amber Group
--Li, how do you see the current state of the crypto assets and Web 3.0 space in 2023 and what do you think will happen in the future?
Li Yijin (Li Yijin): I believe that the two most important factors determining the cycle of the crypto-asset industry are the macro-economy and the half-life of Bitcoin.
The crypto-asset industry is still far from the stage of generating endogenous profits and is currently funded by the traditional financial markets based on its bright future prospects.
In addition, the halving of Bitcoin mining rewards every four years creates scarcity and raises the price of Bitcoin, thereby raising the overall market capitalisation of crypto assets, but the three post-half-life bull markets in history were not entirely brought about by the half-life, but by external financial market The bull market was not entirely brought about by the half-life, but simply coincided with cycles of ups and downs in the external financial markets.
There is still a year to go before Bitcoin's half-life in 2024, but it is difficult to predict how the market will infer this.
Meanwhile, the biggest use case for Web 3.0 at the moment is the transaction function, including investment and speculation. While there is no real killer application yet, with Narrative deployments focusing mainly on Layer 1 and Layer 2 and application layer protocols, the DeFi and NFT ecosystems have an opportunity to explode with generic scaling technologies that utilise zero-knowledge proofs.
There is still room for growth, especially in the area of decentralised futures and options trading, and I expect liquidity and market share to grow rapidly in the coming years. you also expect the NFT ecosystem to create diverse application value.
Although the NFT market has shrunk considerably due to the impact of the crypto asset market conditions, I believe there will be continued focus on the potential to find further intrinsic value in areas such as intellectual property, digital identity, membership and RWA (real-world asset) tokenisation.
--Amber Japan is a Japanese subsidiary of the Amber Group, and we are focusing on the development of our business in the future.
Lee: The predecessor of Amber Japan KK was Dekalet, which was jointly funded by 35 major Japanese companies, including Japanese internet giant IIJ Group, Nomura Holdings, JR East and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and registered with the Financial Services Agency as a crypto asset exchange operator.
In February last year, WhaleFin Holdings Japan KK, the Japanese subsidiary of Singapore-based digital financial services provider Amber Group, was invited as a shareholder to develop the service in Japan. The company has since changed its name to Amber Japan K.K., which bears the name of Amber Group, to coincide with the launch of the WhaleFin service.
Our parent company, Amber Group, is a Singapore-based digital financial technology platform that currently operates in multiple geographies and has more than 10 regulatory licences to provide high-frequency trading, market-making, OTC liquidity provision and lending services for crypto assets to services to institutional and retail investors, as well as asset management and investment.
WhaleFin is Amber Group's all-in-one platform for digital assets for individuals, built on Amber Group's deep expertise in serving both institutional and retail markets, and is a ‘gateway to crypto assets’ for all levels of investment experience. The platform can be used as a ‘gateway to crypto assets’ for both experienced and inexperienced investors.
In Japan, users have been able to use the functions of buying, selling and sending/receiving crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, which were previously handled by DeeCaretto, with simple operations. In the future, the company plans to focus on the areas of asset management, NFT and payments.
--What do you think is necessary for Japan to lead the world in the Web 3.0 domain, and what points do you think you can contribute to the development of the industry because you are Mr Lee?
Li: First of all, for Web 3.0 in Japan to develop further in the future, I think it is important to improve the environment and develop human resources, as Web 3.0 has great potential, especially for countries with strong IP and content industries such as Japan, where there are new opportunities for value creation. There is also the potential for Japan's unique culture and creativity to attract international attention and influence on a global scale.
On the other hand, in order to realise these new possibilities, it will be important to improve the legal system, the environment and other infrastructures, as well as human resource development and attracting personnel from abroad. It is also noteworthy that the cooperation of diverse actors is required, including cooperation with local authorities and the activities of start-up companies.
Overseas, Western countries are also hurrying to consider strategies for the Web 3.0 era, while China has also positioned the development of the digital economy as an important national goal, and blockchain is attracting attention as a key technology.
Hong Kong, in particular, is aiming to become a Web 3.0 hub and will publish licensing requirements for crypto asset exchanges and a draft authorising private investors to trade crypto assets around June this year. This will further encourage the entry of Chinese companies into the market.
In this context, I would like to act as a bridge between China and Japan. By understanding and connecting with different cultures, technologies and markets, I want to demonstrate my value in the future development of Web 3.0 in Asia.
I expect that in Japan, the unique Web 3.0 development and its narratives can lead the world. I believe that Japan's uniqueness and creativity can attract the world in cultural and economic spheres and lead the way in creating new value.
In the future, start-ups will take the lead and work with local authorities to solve local issues and promote vibrant initiatives using Web 3.0, NFT and DAO. We hope that Japan's unique storytelling, art and technology will be developed ahead of other countries in the Web 3.0 world, thereby increasing its global influence.
◉ Li Yinjin.
Yi Jin Li is the managing director of Amber Japan KK, a crypto asset exchange licensed by JFSA Japan's (Japan's Financial Services Authority). Prior to her current position, she worked at Huobi Japan, a crypto asset exchange licensed by JFSA, and B2C2, a leading crypto asset liquidity provider acquired by Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Group at the end of 2020. He also participated in funding the JFSA-licensed crypto asset exchange Liquid around the time he started his crypto asset career at IDG Capital.
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