'blockchain' Tag
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STOs in Japan
October 9, 2019Once again Japan finds itself in the (somewhat rare) position of world leadership on a topic of innovation. Last week, Japan’s major security firms announced the creation of a consortium focused on STOs (security token offerings). As far as I know this is the world’s only major economy in which such an industry-led initiative exists. […]
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ICOs in Japan revisited
February 24, 2019“Why invest in a security token ?” That was how the conversation started with some co-investor friends over wagyu dinner in Tokyo the other night. The question was triggered by the collective observation of the sudden spike in deal flow these days from projects raising funds for their ‘security tokens’. One example cited was that […]
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Japan Tech Leaders Spring 2018 Winners
April 25, 2018Congratulations to all the AI and blockchain entrepreneurs selected for Japan’s prestigious Tech Leaders Summit which took place earlier this month in Tokyo ! Arianee Dablock eToro Platform.sh Re:Infer Snippet Snips Wirex Below is the full infographic of all startup finalists chosen by corporate Japan for Japan Industry 5.0. It was interesting to see that […]
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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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Japan’s prestigious Tech Leaders Summit returns
March 20, 2018Japan’s prestigious Tech Leaders Summit returns on April 6 in Tokyo. The JTL Summit is an invite-only event for internationally-minded Japanese corporates looking for foreign startups. The Japanese corporates present have expressly declared an interest in meeting innovative global startups for partnership or acquisition potential. The themes tend to center on deep tech innovations — […]
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Building blocks of a healthy blockchain ecosystem
March 1, 2018This graphic illustrates how I’ve been explaining the blockchain ecosystem to co-investors and regulators. No single country possesses all of the components to foster a healthy blockchain ecosystem. However, in my opinion, Japan leads the world in most of the building blocks. I am proud to be an investor in some of the startups in […]
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Why Europe should be on Japan’s corporate innovation agendas
January 21, 2018[This post paraphrases an interview I gave last week to Japan’s ITmedia group. The original interview is here.] Over the past decade Europe has witnessed such a dramatic transformation in innovation and entrepreneurship that I submit that the region now represents one of the most compelling areas of the world for investment from Japan. This […]
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VC’s squirrels this year
January 16, 2018The Chairman of one my portfolio companies shared this with me the other day. The best jokes are those that touch closest to the truth, and this one is no exception.
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Bitcoin forecasting
December 15, 2017Would somebody please build a blockchain which immutably tracks the forecasts for the year-end bitcoin price from all these self-annointed pundits ?
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Japan: Bitcoin #1 now in paperback
October 28, 2017For those of you who prefer paperbacks over e-books (like me), Japan: Bitcoin #1 is now available on Amazon in paperback form in most major markets. Profits from the sale of this book are directed to rebuilding efforts in Japan’s Tohoku region. I’d like to reiterate my appreciation to the numerous people who helped make […]
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Will Japan ban ICOs ? Constructive regulation more likely.
October 14, 2017A lot of people have been asking my opinion on whether Japan will ban ICOs. China and South Korea have essentially implemented full-on bans of cryptocurrency and ICOs. A Siberian winter for cryptocurrencies also appears imminent in Russia. So will Japan follow suit ? The short answer is: I really don’t know, but I think […]