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Animoca Brands has invested in over 400 companies in the Web 3.0 field. Kensuke Amo, vice president and COO of the company, which has a corporate value of 800 billion yen, talked about how the Web 3.0 field will develop after 2024.
Animoca Brands is known as a well-known investment company in the Web 3.0 industry, but could you tell us more about your business?
Kensuke Amo (hereinafter, Amo): Animoca is a Web 3.0 company based in Hong Kong, and in its investment business, it has invested in more than 400 Web 3.0 companies at various layers.
It also develops Web 3.0 products as a standalone business, and its current corporate value is 800 billion yen. Simply put, it is a company that has been at the center of the Web 3.0 industry for the past few years and has grown rapidly.
Animoca Brands Japan (company name: Animoca Brands Co., Ltd.) is a strategic subsidiary that Animoca established to support the global expansion of Japanese intellectual property and IP.
Currently, in addition to supporting the Web 3 utilization of IP such as Japanese manga and anime, we are also engaged in advisory business such as designing tokenomics (designing an economic sphere centered on tokens) and providing marketing support, utilizing the assets of Animoca headquarters.
In addition, in terms of collaboration with Animoca headquarters, we will also proceed with the expansion of Mocaverse, a focus project, into the Japanese market.
What kind of project is Mocaverse?
Amo: Animoca is a membership NFT company. It is a Web 3.0 platform that maximizes the network effect by connecting the 400+ companies and projects it invests in and the 700 million users it brings together to build the world's largest cultural economy.
It uses DID (decentralized ID: an ID system that uses blockchain technology) to enable the linking of various services.
To put it very simply, it's a system that enables social login in the Web 3.0 world.
Amo: In the world of Web 3.0, each person will have a wallet linked to their DID and connect to various applications.
It's easy to imagine this as a system where you can use many applications across the board through your DID, such as "people who connect to app A can also connect to app B," or "good customers who frequently use app C can receive special benefits in app D."
It's also possible to develop it in a point-earning style, where you can earn tokens by using each application.
This system, which we should call a "global DID," will be an important topic from 2024 onwards, which is why we at Animoca are focusing on Mocaverse.
Moreover, the culture of "using various services to accumulate common points" is already widespread in Japan, so it should have a high affinity.
So we want to spread Mocaverse domestically and invite various companies to join this wave of global collaboration.
Mr. Amo, you have been promoting cutting-edge businesses such as IEO and NFT at Coincheck, but why did you decide to join Animoca from there?
Amo: Since NFTs became popular in 2021, the situation in the Web3.0 industry has been changing little by little. Previously, it was seen as just a speculative target, but as NFTs became more widespread and various utilities (practicality and uses) were gradually implemented, it came to be recognized as an "application that is actually used."
Until then, the protocol layer (= the blockchain layer that forms the basis of the application) such as Ethereum and the exchange layer were at the center of Web3 business.
However, since the spread of NFTs, the main battlefield of Web3 has become what can be called an all-out war between products and services that combine cryptocurrency exchanges, NFT marketplaces, Web3 wallets, and DApps (blockchain-based applications).
In such a situation, Animoca is at the very center of connecting the various layers of Web3.0.
Of course, there is no doubt that the exchange layer will continue to play an important role in providing liquidity, but we chose Animoca as a place with a better view.
Another major point is that, having worked with Animoca for a long time, we have come to empathize with their visionary side, their belief that "the world of Web 3.0 is definitely coming" and their sense of mission to spread that belief throughout society.
What changes have you noticed now that you've actually joined Animoca?
Amo: What kind of advanced tokenomics are emerging around the world? What are the "ways to win" in Web 3.0 business? What are the big companies that are trying to enter the Web 3.0 industry doing?
I feel like I've become better aware of these big movements surrounding Web 3.0.
Based on this, Animoca has the ability to join forces with companies and projects at various layers and move business forward.
Also, in its interactions with many companies, Animoca as a group values "trust," and I've seen that attitude up close for a long time.
Now that I'm actually joining the company, I feel like I'll be able to work comfortably and create something great together.
Finally, what do you think is interesting about working right in the center of the Web 3.0 industry?
Amo: I really feel like we're in the midst of the waves of an era where various systems and values are changing due to the evolution of technology such as blockchain.
I was a student when the Internet first started to spread, so I wasn't able to be a part of that change, but now that I'm in the Web 3.0 industry, I feel like I'm living in the midst of a major revolution that only comes once or twice in a lifetime.
It's a great joy to be able to use my abilities and have the experience of contributing something to the world.
Kensuke Amo
Joined Coincheck Inc. in 2018. In 2020, as an executive officer, he created new businesses such as the first NFT marketplace among Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges and the first IEO in Japan. In June 2022, he became Coincheck's executive officer. Under a partnership between the company and Animoca Brands in 2020, he is also involved in the Japanese expansion of "The Sandbox" and "Otherside." He has held his current position since February 2024. He also serves as an advisor to the Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association (JCBA) and the Shibuya Ward startup ecosystem. His books include "NFT Textbook" and "Non-Fungible Me" (Asahi Shimbun Publications).
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