weekly
Welcome to the hundredth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. After Consensus in Hong Kong is before Japan FinTech Week, hence a brief reminder that we are hosting our own in-person, 100% offline meetup on Monday, March 3. Please register here. Given current demand, we will close registrations by February
asset management
Nomura Asset Management plans to merge the "Nomura Japan Equity Strategy Fund" (the Fund) and align it with the investment strategy of the more successful "Nomura Japan Open" (NJO) fund. These changes are driven by a comprehensive product review initiated by Nomura AM in December of
web3
NTT Digital and Figment, a leading independent global staking infrastructure provider, are strengthening their validation business efforts with the aim of developing the Web3 ecosystem. NTT Digital provides services using advanced Web3 infrastructure technology to Web3 users who continue to expand globally, and will further promote efforts to develop the
guarantee
Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, has resolved to acquire the shares of Zenhoren through a tender offer under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, and to enter into a capital and business alliance agreement with Zenhoren and MUFG. Zenhoren was established in November 2001
banking
This week, SMBC announced a new joint venture in cybersecurity, as well as enhanced philanthropy advisory services. Cybersecurity Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance of the MS&AD Insurance Group, Cyreeg, and E-Guardian established SMBC CyberFront on February 17, 2025, with full-scale business operations, including service provision to
web3
Blocksky has raised funds with SBI Investment as the lead investor. With this funding, Blocksky fully deploy its web3 advertising platform "W3AP" in Japan and the global market. W3AP delivers innovative approaches to address key challenges in the web3 advertising market, delivering new value for advertisers, web3 companies
stablecoin
Progmat, Fairsquarelab, and Korea Digital Asset Custody have signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding a proof of concept for "Project Pax," a cross-border remittance infrastructure project for stablecoins in collaboration with Swift. Through this PoC, the companies will advance the connection of infrastructure for stablecoin remittance between Japan
stablecoin
double jump.tokyo, which develops applications using blockchain technology at their core, has raised funds from TIS, a member of the TIS Intec Group that has supported payment infrastructure for many years. By combining double jump.tokyo's knowledge of blockchain technology and enterprise web3 wallets with TIS'
crypto
Laser Digital, Nomura’s digital assets subsidiary, has launched the Laser Digital NEAR Adoption Fund. The Fund’s strategy seeks to provide a long-term exposure to the NEAR token enhanced with staking which allows institutional investors residing in eligible jurisdictions to participate in the blockchain consensus mechanism and take advantage
asset management
Nikko Asset Management, one of Asia's largest asset managers, and Tikehau Capital, the global alternative asset management group, have established Tikehau Amova Investment Management, their joint venture focused on developing innovative private asset investment strategies tailored to the Asian market. Based in Singapore, Tikehau Amova Investment Management was
lending
The Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) and the Indonesia Investment Authority (INA) have launched the "IJ Hybrid Capital Solution Fund I," a fund which will be jointly managed by the two institutions and offer hybrid capital solutions for Indonesian corporates. INA is an Indonesia's sovereign wealth
web3
Community-driven IP platform “Xross Road” and advanced AI technology provider “Allora Network” have formed a strategic partnership to accelerate business growth and success in the IP (Intellectual Property) industry. Through this collaboration, the two companies will jointly develop next-generation AI x IP solutions leveraging AI technology to create a new