Expert's comment: "I want to hear what this person has to say right now" - Shusaku Fujino

Recently, IEO (Initial Exchange Offering) cases are gradually appearing in Japan. This is an extremely important movement in Japan becoming a cryptocurrency-friendly country.

This spring, the IEO of "Nippon Idol Token (NIDT)" issued by Overs will be held on coinbook, the cryptocurrency exchange organizing the largest IEO in Japan, and DMM Bitcoin.

The project is expected to raise the largest amount of funds in a domestic IEO case to date, and is currently attracting attention because Yasushi Akimoto, who has worked with AKB48 Group and Sakamichi Group, has been appointed as the project producer.

Shusaku Fujino is the commander of Coinbook in this huge IEO project. In this interview, we asked Fujino how he got into the Web 3.0 field, and about the future prospects of NIDT and coinbook.

Please tell us what prompted you to get into this industry.

Fujino: I originally came from the legal department of FamilyMart. After the Consumer Affairs Agency was established in 2009, FamilyMart was the first company to receive administrative sanctions, and it may have been because I became the person in charge of this.

The problem arose when rice ball wrapping paper stated that the product was "domestic chicken," but in fact it was chicken from Brazil. This was an incident where FamilyMart was planning to use domestic chicken, but failed to confirm that the vendor had switched to Brazilian chicken, and sold the product.

This was explained to the Consumer Affairs Agency and the mass media, and FamilyMart had clearly stated in its internal documents and documents for vendors that it would use domestic chicken.

However, the vendor was purchasing chicken from Brazil and making onigiri. But actually, you can't say that the vendor is entirely at fault. There are so many players involved in the process from raw materials being processed into products to being on the shelves in stores.

In this case, we had to report to the Consumer Affairs Agency about improving raw material management.

The difficult part is that if it were just FamilyMart's affiliated companies, we would only need to give instructions to them to comply with FamilyMart's traceability (history information management) system, but there are other domestic and foreign vendors, so it's not that easy.

As an extension of this, the following year in 2010, I heard the word blockchain. Even though I knew about it, I had never touched it and didn't really understand it. However, I clearly remember that we documented and recorded it as a method of managing traceability, even though it may be difficult to realize.

Since then, the idea of ​​whether we could bring about a paradigm shift in commerce and logistics using blockchain has been stuck in my mind.

After that, I started working on payment businesses that are not so-called real money, such as electronic money and credit. We started various businesses by using electronic money and a centralized server-based system.

Among them, blockchain had a favorable impression, so the fintech company I was working for ended up signing a contract with bitFlyer and started a service that allows you to buy crypto assets with electronic money.

After payment methods, I thought I would start a service for transferring funds overseas.

At that time, we faced the challenge that the transfer would have to go through the All Japan Bank System, which would inevitably increase costs and take time. To be honest, I thought, "This is the same as existing financial institutions." That is, the service I was trying to provide would not be possible unless I used all of the financial institution's systems.

A transaction is easily completed as long as the numbers are transferred properly. It's not like I put 10,000 yen in an envelope and go overseas to hand it over, it's just a matter of transferring information. I thought this was the best way to use blockchain.

So I decided to participate in the launch of the Japanese subsidiary of OKCoin, a major overseas cryptocurrency exchange. After completing registration as a cryptocurrency exchange, we launched an exchange, a sales office, and staking services.

Coinbook is now finally launching its exchange service, how do you feel about it?

Fujino: I feel like there was more we could have done. When thinking about whether something is really easy to understand and use from the user's perspective, I think there was plenty of room for further consideration.

However, there were times when we had to proceed from the perspective of a developer, or from the perspective of the service releaser. Even so, I still feel that we could have been more aggressive and that we had the power to do so. We will keep this in mind and use it to make improvements in the future.

IEO acceptance will also begin at the same time as the launch of the exchange service. Please tell us what kind of token Nippon Idol Token (NIDT) is for which IEO will be conducted, and what this series of projects is about.

Fujino: Japan is a unique environment, and it is said that the tax system is not very good for people who run businesses related to Web 3.0 or who are thinking of playing with Web 3.0.

However, Japan is the only country in the world that has created a solid framework for IEOs. I think it is a blessing that we are able to do an IEO in this environment.

It is very exciting to see what kind of economic sphere will be created by people who have solid knowledge of finance and crypto assets, including the issuer, Overse, issuing idol-related tokens called NIDT.

We are carefully considering the idols' perspective, discussing how to create a system similar to retirement benefits after graduation, how fans can use NIDT, and whether a system that can replace wallets and NFTs can be used as proof of community membership, and we are proceeding with development by discussing various things.

We are in a position to give our opinions, but I think NIDT will create a very interesting economic sphere, and I am confident of that.

In terms of what having NIDT can do, we think it could make it possible to stimulate fan communication, and because buying a CD every time you vote is not sustainable, we could use NFTs in conjunction with NIDT.

This way, if idols can be properly branded and their value recognized, the value of the token will increase as the economic sphere spreads.

It's not just about making money, but it should encourage people to want the tokens and develop an attachment to the idols born from the tokens.

It also allows us to acknowledge the support of those who were involved from the beginning when it was launched. It's an interesting system in which the project is recognized as having been launched thanks to the support of token holders.

This IEO is relatively rare, with two companies involved. How did you come to do it this way?

Fujino: The sale of Nippon Idol Token (NIDT) issued by Overs is 1.5 billion yen, which is a large-scale project compared to other IEOs. Coinbook was the first to be approached about this project, but at the time, we were also just starting to accept new accounts.

Therefore, we thought it would be better to work with several exchanges rather than just us alone and reach out to a wider range of people. In order to make this project a success, we thought that it would be better to do it with multiple companies, rather than doing the IEO exclusively and making profits from transaction fees.

With this in mind, we consulted with DMM Bitcoin, which has a strong presence in entertainment, and decided to work together. I think that a project's success rate will definitely be higher if it is sold with other companies than simply by one company. It will also be more convenient for users.

I think that in the future, we will gradually see more cases where multiple companies cooperate to do IEOs and liven up projects.

I imagine it must be extremely difficult to apply for an IEO and start exchange services at the same time. Please tell us about the difficulties and challenges you have faced so far.

Fujino: We start reviewing new tokens before they are issued, but on the other hand, the tokens are basically issued before the review is completed. Therefore, one of the difficult adjustments is that the specifications change, such as the token algorithm changing during the review process.

The specifications change because there are new features that need to be added to the project. Then, there is a deviation from what was initially explained, so we have to explain the reasons. This is difficult. Of course, it's not just us who have to do it, but the reviewers as well.

However, the reviewers are also very accepting of this. It's not that the review is lenient, but they never try to get in the way of businesses or crush new projects.

Even in the exchanges regarding NIDT this time, we proceed by confirming what the current situation is, what they are thinking, what tools they are using, etc., so we and the issuers were able to get hints on how to manage information and organize our thoughts, and we were able to have a meaningful discussion.

Looking back, everything was really difficult and a constant struggle.

As I mentioned earlier, the token had not yet been issued at the IEO review stage, so it was difficult to get an idea of ​​what the token would be. There are so many points to check when dealing with crypto assets for the first time, including what wallets to use at the exchange.

When releasing an exchange service, we started by prioritizing the world view we wanted to create rather than the system, and then we started by discussing how to operate it, creating a manual for executing the operation, and then developing a system to incorporate that manual into the business flow.

We really built everything from scratch, and then we handled tokens with unknowns of how they would progress through the IEO.

There are only four cases of IEO in Japan so far. It is different from an IPO on the stock market, and there is almost no reference.

Even if there are profits in the first and second IEO cases, it is difficult to obtain information about the inside. This was a very stressful task, as we had no choice but to proceed blindly.

For example, with the IEO, Overs also has a solid schedule. Like, XX in April, □□ in May.

This meant that we had to release the exchange service in March, and all of our employees worked hard on this. That's why I feel that launching the exchange service and working on the IEO were very meaningful activities in terms of communication and team building.

Please tell us about Coinbook's future developments and your enthusiasm.

Fujino: We as a company believe that we must do something valuable as Coinbook. In other words, we have no intention of launching an exchange or sales office that is a rehash of systems that are already overflowing in the world and that users are satisfied with.

With our exchange service, we would like to support those who want to do IEOs, handle tokens for the first time, and even take on the challenge of managing financial assets that have not existed in Japan until now. We are discussing within the company how to make ourselves unique.

Among these, we believe that our strength and characteristic is the entertainment field.

As you can see from this NIDT, we would like to spend this year thinking about how we can use blockchain to make people in the entertainment industry and their fans happy.

This is a story that is difficult to come up with simply by understanding cryptocurrencies, so we will work hard not only with our company but also with companies that we will partner with in the future. We aim to be a completely new cryptocurrency exchange that offers new ways to use blockchain, not just with low fees.

And when I thought about what Coinbook's strengths are, I realized that we should cherish the relationships we have with the people we currently work with.

I think that through these connections, we can come up with a system that will make people in the entertainment industry happy, and that we need to pursue that.

In addition, we are also considering, for example, whether we can use blockchain to link with existing technologies. I think that by teaming up with a technology that was popular 30 years ago, various synergies will be created. I would like to develop such a business as well.

Profile

◉Shusaku Fujino
At FamilyMart, he was involved in M&A business strategies and projects, as well as building a payment business scheme using vouchers (including electronic money) such as gift certificates and prepaid cards. He then became COO of the Japanese subsidiary of OK Coin, one of the world's three largest cryptocurrency exchanges, and was responsible for registering the company as a cryptocurrency exchange and developing and operating services that utilize blockchain. In 2021, he founded ORADA to develop and operate the NFT marketplace. He is currently supporting a wide range of companies, from large companies to startups, in developing new businesses that utilize blockchain. In 2022, he became COO of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbook Inc.