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"TicketMe" is Japan's first marketplace app that allows users to buy and sell NFT tickets, such as event tickets, merchandise exchange vouchers, and memberships.
Its unique feature is that it allows users to buy and sell ownership rights to any object or service, and if a "ticket" is distributed before the rights are used, 10-90% of the profits are returned to the primary seller.
In October 2023, the company also obtained a patent for the technology that controls the buying and selling of NFT tickets. Through this interview, we take a closer look at the mission of TicketMe's Miyashita, who aims to "revolutionize distribution" --
Previously, you had implemented a system where 5% was returned to the primary seller for each distribution, but could you tell us about the most recent updates?
Daisuke Miyashita (hereinafter, Miyashita): Previously, the primary seller was given a 5% rebate for each sale. After that, in response to requests from users, we changed the system so that the rebate rate can be selected from the profits.
Specifically, it can be set to any value between 10% and 90%. If an item is initially sold for 20,000 yen and then resold for 80,000 yen, 10% to 90% of the difference (60,000 yen) will be returned to the seller.
Setting this rebate rate can be difficult because lowering the rebate rate increases the possibility of resale, but the rebate amount per sale decreases, and setting the rebate rate higher makes resale less likely, but the rebate rate per sale increases.
The two values are inversely proportional, so we are currently trying to find the rebate rate value (point) that maximizes each of them.
The more data we accumulate, the more we will know the optimal value for each ticket, so we expect that by presenting this value to users, we will be able to create a distribution system that maximizes the return to the people and businesses that create value.
Is the data intended to be presented on the app?
Miyashita: Yes. What we are analyzing now is data such as how many views the sold items received when they were actually sold, and the time it took for them to be offered.
By analyzing various data, we plan to present the optimal figures within the app so that we can maximize the return of value.
Real World Assets (RWA) have been a hot topic since last summer. What do you think are the strengths of RWA?
Miyashita: We believe that among RWAs, there are those that are close to commodities and those that are far from them. Gold and oil are relatively close to commodities.
Conversely, currencies, bonds, and stock indexes are far from commodities. We tokenize the rights to assets that are relatively close to commodities, especially those that are consumed, such as event tickets and vouchers for goods.
From that perspective, we believe that the advantage of RWA is that it "increases liquidity after creating a common inventory."
For example, let's say that 10 seats for an event ticket are sold at play guide A (event ticket sales site), and the next 10 seats are sold at play guide B.
The event ticket sold at play guide A is considered to be of a different standard from the event ticket sold at play guide B.
However, by creating a common inventory, it becomes easier to buy and sell event tickets sold at any play guide. As a result, liquidity increases.
I think the same thing can be said about money, and there are various issues involved in exchanging money on the spot, such as fees and the time it takes to transfer, but by tokenizing it, these issues can be resolved and liquidity can be increased. This is the major advantage of RWA, and by extension, shared inventory.
I believe that increased liquidity has the benefit of expanding product options, but what are the benefits of increased liquidity from the business perspective?
Miyashita: When liquidity is high, products tend to sell at a higher price due to market principles. When considering the balance between supply and demand in a highly liquid market, the supply side generally rarely fluctuates significantly, but the higher the liquidity, the more the demand side increases.
As demand increases, prices rise. Higher liquidity means that there are more participants in the market.
As a result, the price is more likely to rise to the price it should be. This allows people who really want it to be able to purchase it, and as a result, I think there is an advantage for businesses in that sales increase.
One of the current challenges in the entertainment industry is that the price of event tickets cannot be changed for specific seats.
To be more specific, it is common to set prices for seats in block A and block B.
If we could give liquidity to the price of seats in the row between seats A and B, the front seats in the A seats would remain expensive, but the price of seats in the back would be able to be lowered.
I believe that a future will come in which prices will be determined by the market more flexibly than now.
I understand that one of your strengths is the use of technologies such as Soulbound Tokens (SBT) to prevent unauthorized resale. What is your strategy as major companies enter the market in the future?
Miyashita: Our current work involves advancing business collaborations to create a resale market by attaching it to the primary sales system.
We have already started working on event tickets, and Gettii, an event ticket sales system, has added the option of NFT tickets to the method of issuing tickets, where previously only e-tickets and paper tickets were available.
This will allow people who have previously used paper or e-tickets, which could not be resold, to use NFT tickets and resell them on TicketMe.
TicketMe aims to attach a resale market to all primary sales systems in the future, creating a world where ownership of any object or the right to use a service can be bought and sold, regardless of where the primary distribution took place.
We would like to continue proposing that "Let's do resale on TicketMe" and form partnerships with major companies.
What kind of presentation do you give when you go to large companies to make sales?
Miyashita: It seems that existing ticket agencies have issues with their current resale systems, but even if they wanted to make improvements, there would be many challenges involved, such as modifying the system.
We explain to them that "we provide an external resale market without requiring you to make major modifications to your own platform, and we offer a system that returns profits to your company."
We are conveying a vision of a future where existing profits are not compromised, and usability is increased for people who have not been able to buy tickets until now, so it's a win-win situation.
I understand that you are working to link with DID (Decentralized Identifier) using My Number cards in order to solve the problem of fraudulent resale of event tickets. What is the progress on this?
Miyashita: DID is a decentralized ID, which means it is an ID managed by an individual, independent of any centralized organization. It is a system in which you provide your information only when you really want to provide it.
Showing or depositing your My Number card every time poses some challenges in terms of protecting privacy. Protecting privacy while increasing security is very important, not just for event tickets, but it is quite difficult to achieve both.
DID can solve these conflicting problems. Authentication is not only done on TicketMe, but is done on the basis of the DID, so as the number of other authenticated users increases, they will be linked. There will also be no need to authenticate individually on TicketMe every time.
What is Chicheme's strategy in an environment where major companies are expected to accelerate their efforts in RWA?
Miyashita: We don't intend to compete with major companies, but rather we want to create a unique chain specialized in the buying and selling of consumer goods and accelerate collaboration.
We would like to deepen relationships with various companies by building in a system that incorporates SBT as the default to solve the problem of double consumption of consumer goods and create a chain that allows us to earn royalties on resales.
In January 2024, you announced that you had raised 220 million yen from a major fund. What do you think is attractive about TicketMe to investors and existing users?
Miyashita: From the business perspective, I think the biggest benefit is that TicketMe can resolve the frustrations that have been felt up until now.
Currently, in the event ticket industry, each company has to register their inventory one by one. By making this a shared inventory, companies can distribute everything to the market at once, dramatically reducing inventory management costs and making it easier for users to purchase.
Another benefit is that companies will be able to earn a return on their profits from resales, which previously didn't bring them a single yen in profit.
There are some issues with tax laws regarding NFTs, so could you tell us about any taxes that may be incurred when trading tickets on TicketMe?
Miyashita: We are gradually working on dealing with the consumption tax, etc. With the invoice system coming into effect, I think we need to make the platform easier to use for businesses and users.
What are the benefits of TicketMe using the DAO method?
Miyashita: We're talking within the company about how we could do a lot of interesting things if the DAO law were passed. If we could buy and sell real estate beneficiary rights as a DAO, we'd be able to give back to people overseas who haven't been able to get a return on their profits until now.
Specifically, you first have a membership to create the product. By becoming a member, you are making your first investment. If that resulted in crops being produced or real estate being owned, it was difficult to distribute the profits up until now, but if you become a member and join a DAO, it could become easy to distribute the profits.
The possibility of being able to do business within a loose organization like a DAO is interesting.
What are your future prospects?
Miyashita: TicketMe wants to revolutionize the distribution industry. Everything can be put on a ticket, and anyone can buy and sell it easily. We want to create a world where you can sell and buy at any time.
Daisuke Miyashita
Upon entering the School of Political Science and Economics at Waseda University, he founded an e-commerce website dealing in apparel. After selling the business, he worked in research at independent VC EastVentures. In June 2022, he founded TicketMe, Inc., which provides Japan's first NFT ticket sales platform, "TicketMe," and became its representative director.
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