Japan Blockchain Conference 2018
The Japan Blockchain conference (JBC) was held in Tokyo on June 26th and 27th, 2018. The conference featured over 70 companies and 30 speakers from around the world whose businesses and interests lay in blockchain technology.
Blockchain use and adoption is growing rapidly, and conferences like JBC help to inform and expand public knowledge and interest in the revolutionary technology. JBC provided a space for businesses to network on a global level and observe industry trends and various applications of blockchain technology.
Many of the businesses that were at JBC were foreign companies visiting for the first time. Because of the rapidly changing crypto regulations that already differ by jurisdiction, it was interesting to note that some of the companies exhibiting at JBC were unclear as to whether their services were in compliance with local Japanese regulations. As blockchain regulation becomes more established and transparent, there should be less (possibly) inadvertent violations.
The Japan Blockchain Conference was a playground of new technology to be explored by those interested in blockchain, cryptocurrency and FinTech. I enjoyed my time at the conference, and below is a summary of FinTech companies in attendance for those interested in the conference that could not make it.
Goldex
Goldex is a consulting and business solution firm based in Tokyo that provides advice for companies expanding into the Japan market. Goldex has also developed a point of sale solution for Japanese companies that service foreigners who wish to use their non-cash payment forms. Goldex’s device is also able to speed up tax free refund transactions from 10 to 15 minutes to just 1 minute.
ChainKey
ChainKey offers custody software solution for banks to offer their customers cryptocurrency custodianship. With ChainKey bank customers will be able to send, receive, buy, sell, and hold digital assets.
Emurgo
Emurgo is a venture capital and consulting firm focused on crypto assets based in Japan. Emurgo also offers an academy to learn about blockchain, ICO’s, smart contracts and more. Emurgo is the commercialization arm for Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK), the creators of Cardano.
Endor
Endor provides AI software that analyzes cryptocurrency investors’ behavior. Endor was created at MIT and is self-described as the “Google for predictive analytics”. The platform is based on “Social Physics” which uses Big Data to build a predictive, computational theory of human behavior.
OSA
OSA is developing a decentralized AI-driven data market place for manufacturers, retail and consumers. OSA can be used to reduce overstocking and under-stocking which cost retail businesses $400 billion per year.
Puma Pay
Puma Pay is a payment system on blockchain based on “pull” approach, similar to a debit card. Through this system Puma Pay aims to eliminate the risk of fraud, chargebacks and associated fines. Puma Pay could also disrupt Visa and Mastercard by providing a payment form that skips the 3%-15% transaction fees.
XELS
XELS hopes to create a decentralized ecology economy platform through their elesol® device which prevents energy loss through an electromagnetic attenuation plate. The plate is already on the market in Japan. XELS plans to add carbon certificate trading functionality in the near future.
Sirin Labs
Sirin Labs have developed a blockchain smartphone acting as a cold storage wallet too. This device would allow users to carry crypto securely during daily activity. The phones estimated price is $1000 USD.
Coincircle
Coincircle is an integrated platform for crypto asset trading, that provides split-second sales. The platform offers coin pre-sales and trading, and also offers coin development for products that are not currently attached to a coin.
Crypto Club Japan
Crypto Club Japan provides training for crypto investors. Some of the terminology used on their site however seems against the spirit of regulation that Japan is pursuing. They claim to be the largest Japanese Crypto Community.
Dawn Digital
Dawn Digital is a token ICO backed by real estate assets. One of the main features of the coin is a 4% yearly token dividend from property rentals. The initial real estate portfolio is comprised of buildings primarily in Berlin, Germany.
Lead Coin
Leadcoin allows consumers to monetize their data by sharing their data with interested businesses in exchange for Leadcoin. The data is shared via a cookie or web form, and is related to products or services consumers wish to buy.
BitHero
BitHero is a virtual live trading platform for cryptocurrency. BitHero also plans on releasing an actual exchange in the near future.
TraDove
TraDove is a B2B token for international trade and marketing. The service is free except for sellers who wish to be prioritized or use value-added utilities.
Atomic
Atomic is a cross-blockchain infrastructure that provides the immediate guarantee of value transfers between parties in decentralized exchanges, e-commerce, and any other peer-to-peer transactions.
ORBS
ORBS is an Ethereum blockchain overlay designed for micro transactions. The system is a public blockchain infrastructure for large scale consumer applications. ORBS hybrid solution is as fast as EOS without compromising security and decentralization.
Tourex
Tourex has been developed as a way of settlement by cryptocurrency in Cambodia. The goal for Tourex is to realize a cashless town concept with cryptocurrency. Their currency will not be influenced by price fluctuations.
Passion Progress Ltd
Passion Progress is a crypto mining hardware maker and management/maintenance service provider. They are working on developing an immersion system for a super computer that could be used for mining.
Find.Exchange
Find Exchange is a price aggregator for crypto and fiat currencies. They seek to lower transfer costs, increase transparency and increase speed of delivery in cryptocurrency transactions.
2Key
2Key is a reward software that distributes referral rewards equitably based on where users are in the referral chain. The closer you are to the “sale” or successful referral, the larger portion of the reward is received.
World Trader
World Trader is an app that aggregates users’ accounts at crypto exchanges and therefore lets users trade quickly across platforms.
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