Tokyo promotes digital securities on blockchain and subsidizes establishment costs

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is promoting the use of digital financial products.Has been updatedA subsidy program for companies that issue securities using blockchain technology. The grant aims to demonstrate how ledger technologies like blockchain can enable direct connections between issuers and investors, allowing companies to issue securities in smaller amounts. Masu.

The subsidy system itself has been in existence since 2020, but the city has increased the maximum subsidy amount from 3 million yen ($19,000) to 5 million yen ($31,500) or more, and the target period is set to 2026. extend to. (April 2026 to January 2027 in Japan).

“This fiscal year, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will continue to strengthen its efforts to expand the market by creating a variety of examples of issuance of digital securities and widely sharing know-how and issues.”

This grant covers costs associated with (a) using the platform, (b) hiring personnel, and (c) building the system itself. The subsidy will cover one-half of the expenses for existing businesses and two-thirds for startups. The digital securities project does not need to already exist at the time of application, as the grant is intended to support development and setup costs.

Tokyo It also identified two “priority areas” for which subsidies could be capped at 7.5 million yen ($48,077). These include things that provide new investment opportunities to individuals, create innovation, “solve social issues,” and “make full use of digital technology in priority areas.”

Projects can apply at any time, but applications will close if the government reaches an unspecified budget limit for the project, he said. The review committee he evaluates applications every 1-2 months. Successful applicants have been warned not to disclose their grants to anyone until the Tokyo Metropolitan Government makes the information public.

Specific applications will be judged on a “case-by-case” basis as to whether they meet the Commission’s criteria. However, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s FAQ page states that this may include beneficiary certificates of corporate bond issuers and trust funds.

Japan: “Center of Web3”?

Tokyo’s plan reflects the national government’s efforts to promote Japan as a “Web3 hub.” So far this includes support for authoring.digital securities Issuance/trading platform and blockchain-based stablecoin. There are also tax breaks for developers.decentralized autonomous organization(DAO) and decentralized digital identity systems.

Although the term “”web 3There is no exact definition, but it refers to a theoretical future Internet with features such as decentralization, token-based economics, interoperable systems, and existing on a trustless/permissionless platform. It is then generally accepted.

Although blockchain networks and their digital assets are considered an example of Web3 technology, the definition may include other distributed ledger-type technologies.

anotherAdvantages of Web3, specifically leveraging blockchain is user-based data ownership and control. Today’s Internet (often referred to as “Web 2.0”) emphasizes user-generated information. However, that data is typically stored on large, centralized server farms. This means that the companies that own these facilities also have full control over their users’ data.ofWeb3 concept It’s about taking ownership/control of data away from a single entity at scale and returning it to the user who created the data in the first place.

It remains to be seen whether that vision will become a reality, or whether the Japanese government’s support for Web3 will succeed in setting an example for the world. There is a lot of user demand for such networks, but the dominant technology companies in the corporate world (mainly based in Silicon Valley) will not relinquish power and control so easily.

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