Japan’s Blockchain Sector Grows by a Third Within a Year

Although countries around the world are increasingly using blockchain technology, Japan is far ahead of them.

The country is witnessing a massive growth in blockchain and cryptocurrency oriented companies throughout the past year. According to an industry report from Monex Crypto Bank, the number of blockchain-oriented companies increased by 30% across various industries.

As stated in the document, there were 430 blockchain and cryptocurrency companies in Japan this May. This is around 30% higher compared to the 329 companies at the same time last year.

The report called “Blockchain Data Book 2020” was released this week by Monex Crypto Bank, which belongs to Monex Group, one of the major online financial institutions in Japan, that also owns the biggest cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck.

According to a blog post from Rain, the exchange is now the first Middle Eastern cryptocurrency company to earn a regulatory license. Rain obtained the Crypto-Asset Module (CRA) license from CBB after completing the bank’s two-year regulatory sandbox program.

The leading sectors

Reportedly, the majority of the companies focused on cryptocurrency and blockchain (55%) are coming from the information technology (IT) sector. Meanwhile, the following Financial industry counts over a 19% share, and the Entertainment sector 10% share accordingly.

However, the report reveals that there is a growing demand for blockchain technologies beyond IT and Finances industries. Other sectors incorporating blockchain and cryptocurrencies into their industries include service, infrastructure, retail, real estate, healthcare, human resources, and trade.

According to the report, most blockchain operations are primarily driven by large corporations (around 190) rather than by startups. The number of them is relatively low in Japan compared to the other countries.

The vast majority of the corporations (105) though mainly engage in the activities directly related to the blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

The reasons behind the growing adoption

According to the report, the increase in cryptocurrency and blockchain adoption is attributed to multiple reasons. The country has ambitions to become a worldwide leader in this field and has made steps already toward wider acceptance of crypto.

Japan is among the countries that have clear regulations on cryptocurrency exchanges, moreover, the governmental institutions do not charge the consumption tax to cryptocurrency purchases. Bitcoin is also acknowledged as a legal form of payment in the country.

Reportedly, historical and cultural features also play an important role in the wider acceptance of blockchain and cryptos. Foreign currency trading historically had high popularity among local retail investors, the country even is one of the largest retail Forex markets in the world. Meanwhile, mobile gaming culture contributed a lot in terms of familiarity with virtual currencies.