Japanese Blockchain Entrepreneurs Discuss Industry Status and Future Development

Hara, the founder and CEO of Janction, has become an important figure in the Japanese cryptocurrency industry. Although he worked in accounting at KPMG, accumulating experience in IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, and auditing, what truly set him apart was his involvement in the Jasmy project.

As a professional in the traditional finance industry, Hara once faced skepticism about blockchain technology. In 2016, Jasmy was still a semiconductor supply company focused on developing IoT devices. At the end of 2017, the company decided to transform and enter the blockchain industry. Hara stated that at that time, the management had an unclear understanding of blockchain technology, and the purposes of the tokens and governance structure were also vague. He conducted in-depth research on the ICO and cryptocurrency markets and proposed to make decentralized identity and data applications the core of the token economy. This experience, filled with exploration and trial and error, has now become a valuable asset.

For Hara and Janction, innovation implementation and talent cultivation are two key issues. Hara sees the AI potential brought by the development of the Internet of Things and Blockchain, and decides to enter this field. Janction's core business is building Layer 2 platforms, providing GPU computing resources and data storage solutions, offering technical support to academic institutions and startups to help develop large language models.

Hara believes that AI and Blockchain have a natural connection in terms of data storage and computing power. By building GPU nodes and Layer 2 technology, a powerful platform is provided for researchers and developers to accelerate AI technology development. Currently, about 4000 nodes have been deployed on the platform, with plans to provide computing resources to academic institutions such as the University of Tokyo to support breakthroughs in the AI field.

The Japanese blockchain market faces significant barriers. Although Japan is one of the most advanced technology markets in the world, there are still many issues regarding blockchain acceptance and the regulatory environment. Especially in the DeFi sector, Japan's regulatory policies are relatively conservative. Hara stated that the biggest problem when launching blockchain projects in Japan is regulatory uncertainty. DeFi projects can hardly develop in Japan, and even DEXs are prohibited. This is not only a policy barrier but also reflects the limitations of society's understanding of blockchain technology.

When Hara joined Jasmy as CFO in 2018, he understood that to make the project bigger, it was essential to go beyond the limitations of the Japanese market and move towards global expansion. Although Jasmy successfully went public in Japan, the market expansion has always focused on overseas opportunities. Many Korean and Chinese blockchain projects face obstacles when entering the Japanese market, often due to language and cultural barriers, especially when lacking a localized team. When collaborating with large Japanese companies, the language and cultural differences pose the biggest challenge. If team members who can speak Japanese can be found, these issues can be overcome.

Hara also recognizes the potential limitations of overly relying on the Japanese market. Jasmy chose to start from overseas markets at its launch to avoid focusing solely on Japan. Although the Japanese market is large, its openness is relatively small; internationalization is the future.

The blockchain industry is rapidly developing and facing issues of talent replacement and the transition between new and old forces. It is difficult for Japan to recruit blockchain engineers, especially those who are proficient in large Layer 1 projects. Janction recruits excellent engineers from Argentina, Greece, Spain, and other places, with the CTO coming from Australia, bringing significant advantages with its globalized technical team.

Although Japan's acceptance of cryptocurrencies is gradually increasing, most projects in the market are still limited to small-scale experimental applications and lack innovative breakthroughs. Overseas projects, especially blockchain companies from Korea and China, often face challenges due to language and cultural barriers when entering the Japanese market. Even when providing globally oriented services and supporting Japanese, it is still difficult to overcome these barriers.

For overseas companies that can find localized teams in Japan, there is still an opportunity to collaborate with large Japanese companies such as Sony and Panasonic. However, this collaboration requires more patience and time to overcome language and cultural differences. Jasmy initially chose to enter overseas markets, avoiding the constraints of over-relying on the Japanese market.

Hara conducted an in-depth analysis of the two forces of blockchain idealism and the meme coin phenomenon. He firmly believes that the potential of blockchain technology lies in decentralization, data sovereignty, and transparency, rather than merely trading or speculation. Truly valuable blockchain projects should bring long-term benefits to users, rather than short-term speculation.

The meme coin phenomenon has become a unique cultural phenomenon, leaving many industry professionals focused on technological innovation feeling confused. Hara believes that meme coins allow ordinary investors and the public to better understand Blockchain, but they are not sustainable projects. They can bring quick profits, but lack practical application scenarios, making it difficult to support value in the long term.

Hara has a complex attitude towards meme coins. From a market perspective, meme coins can attract a large number of investors and bring short-term wealth effects. However, in the long run, this speculative behavior can have negative impacts on the industry. He personally does not invest in meme coins, believing that they lack genuine technological innovation and do not align with the idealism of Blockchain. However, meme coins also serve as a social experiment, revealing the market's understanding and misunderstanding of blockchain technology.

The success of meme coins has raised doubts about speculative sentiment. Some believe it is driven by short-term speculation, lacking technical support and intrinsic value. More questions arise about whether blockchain technology can create a completely new technological ecosystem that surpasses current achievements.

For Hara, blockchain idealism should focus on technologies and applications that solve real-world problems, rather than pursuing short-term profits. He is more concerned with how to use blockchain technology to bring innovation to the Internet of Things and data management, rather than relying on speculative market trends.