SMBC creates “Token Business Lab”, plans for Web3 and NFT projects
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMBC Group) said on Friday it is teaming up with blockchain firm HashPort to create a “token business lab” to develop non-fungible token (NFT) and Web3 projects. The move comes just months after Japan’s largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) announced its partnership with Animoca Brands to facilitate “the development of the NFT market”.
SMBC and HashPort to set up a “Token Business Lab”
SMBC, a financial institution that runs Japan’s second-largest bank, said it has teamed up with local blockchain solutions provider HashPort to establish a so-called token business lab. The two companies will use the lab to research and develop NFT and Web3 businesses, according to their Friday statement.
HashPort is a Japanese blockchain company on a mission to “digitize all assets.” The Minato, Chiba-based company provides crypto listing and consulting services to a variety of Japanese businesses, including digital asset exchanges. HashPort has three major business divisions.
Through its primary token architect business, HashPort offers system audits on the trustworthiness of blockchain and crypto solutions, consulting services and development of tokenomics for cryptocurrency issuance. Second, HashPort develops cryptocurrency wallet management solutions for major crypto exchanges in Japan. Finally, the company launched an NFT business in March 2020, providing a platform to issue, manage and distribute NFTs.
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Japan’s Web3 and NFT interest grows amid broader crypto slowdown
The partnership between SMBC and HashPort marks the latest major development in Japan’s Web3 space. Earlier this year, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) teamed up with Hong Kong-based software and venture capital firm Animoca Brands to develop NFT projects.
MUFG and Animoca announced a partnership to tackle the rapidly growing global NFT market, with many large companies and startups entering the space every day. Japan’s largest bank said that to energize the NFT space in Japan, the country must first create “an NFT environment where everyone can trade with ease and peace of mind, just as when they
make daily purchases.”
“Through this collaboration, MUFG Bank will support the development of the NFT market by leveraging Animoca Brands’ knowledge of digital content and intellectual property rights and NFT market management, as well as our own expertise in customer networks and secure transactions.”
While interest in NFTs and Web3 continues to grow, NFT sales fell sharply last month amid a broader crypto market downturn. According to recent figures, monthly sales on the world’s largest NFT market, OpenSea, were down to just $700 million in June, from $2.6 billion in May and nearly $5 billion at the start of the year. The current decline marks a sharp turnaround for the global NFT market after a stellar 2021.
As of late June, the average NFT sale fell to $412 from $1,754 at the end of April, according to data from NonFungible.com. Earlier this month, Google search volume on NFTs dropped to 0 as general economic turmoil and recession fears continued to weigh on all markets.
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About the author
Tim Fries is the co-founder of The Tokenist. He has a B. Sc. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Tim served as a Senior Associate in the investment team at RW Baird’s US Private Equity division and is also a co-founder of Protective Technologies Capital, an investment firm specializing in sensing, protection and control solutions.
