'technology' Category
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The real heroes of the Paris bike sharing programs
August 5, 2018If I had to rank in order of my appreciation the various French government services, topping the list would undoubtedly be the Paris firemen (les Pompiers de Paris). This group of heroes has saved the life of one of my visiting relatives, and on another occasion, rescued me from a world of hurt as the […]
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Japan has its successful Unicorn. Next it needs its first Unicorpse.
June 22, 2018[Note: The Japanese version of this piece can be found here: 初のユニコーンを手にした日本、次に必要なのはユニコープス? ] Japan witnessed its first successful unicorn take flight this week in the IPO of Mercari. Since its launch in 2013, Mercari has become Japan’s leading online flea market platform, allowing people to buy and sell secondhand items on a smartphone app with […]
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Japan’s Airbnb mishap
June 15, 2018Today, the registration deadline for Japan’s new rule on private lodging services like Airbnb comes into effect. I’m going to try to be as diplomatic as I can here: the implementation of this new legislation is a head-scratcher. Two prominent requirements of the new law are: i) a restriction on the number of rental nights […]
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Crypto merchant acceptance
June 8, 2018As I argued in Japan Bitcoin #1, the Japanese government’s designation of bitcoin as legal tender in April 2017 unleashed dramatic consumer adoption as well as cryptocurrency merchant acceptance. Today, over 50% of the world’s bitcoin trading volume occurs in Japanese yen and nearly 20,000 retail and online merchants in Japan accept bitcoin as payment. […]
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Angry Birds Flock to FB Messenger
May 8, 2018It’s the VE Day holiday in much of Europe today, and today also marks the global launch of Angry Birds on Facebook Messenger. In a pan-European alliance, Finnish creator of the original Angry Birds game, Rovio, partnered with our Dutch portfolio company CoolGames to produce an HTML5 version of Angry Birds for release on the […]
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New book out: Land of the Rising Blockchain
April 10, 2018I never planned to be a part-time author and still contend that I am not worthy of the title. However, after crafting Japan Bitcoin #1 last year, I realized that writing books makes me a better venture capitalist. My new book, Land of the Rising Blockchain, explores the wide-ranging impacts of blockchain technology on industry […]
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Beyond Blocks summit
April 7, 2018This past week’s Beyond Blocks summit in Tokyo was beyond wow! Japan is the world’s number one market for cryptocurrency, so the overflow at this Tokyo version did not come as a surprise. Perhaps it’s because the ICO hype window has taken a pause, but the vibe at the summit felt like genuine ambition to […]
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Opportunity in HTML5 Playable Ads
April 3, 2018I’ve written in the past about the broad potential for HTML5 in casual games. This potential is already playing out on mobile messaging platforms, like Facebook’s Instant Games. I’ve also imagined a world in which HTML5 might usher in a new generation of mobile advertising solutions by facilitating playable ads. A friend at a prominent […]
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The sad cycle of Paris bike sharing
March 13, 2018Two trends caught my attention on a recent return trip to Paris: cafés offering avocado toast, and shareable bikes scattering the pavement. I’m a big fan of city bike sharing schemes for a variety of reasons: they sensitize drivers to cyclists; they reduce traffic congestion; they improve the urban atmosphere for cyclists and non-cyclists alike. […]
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Coincheck makes hacked victims whole
March 8, 2018I’ve written before about the recent hack of Coincheck, one of Japan’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. I’ve also written at length about how Japan walks the delicate line between constructive regulation and consumer protection in cryptocurrency (for example here, here, and here). In this spirit it’s hard not to admire the Japanese government’s prescribed resolution of […]
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The samurai that doesn’t die
February 10, 2018People who know me well know that I am a bit of a stickler for unnecessary waste. It’s one of the character traits that helps me to consistently resist the temptation of upgrading my smartphone until the utility value surpasses the envy value (often to the bemusement of my friends). I fall on the end […]
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Coincheck hack
January 27, 2018I was in the middle of a meeting yesterday evening when my colleague and co-author Annie alerted me to some erratic activity on cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck. The exchange was freezing transfers, and a gaggle of reporters were gathering in front of Coincheck’s Tokyo headquarters. Apparently, one of Japan’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges has been hacked. The […]