Astar Network CEO Sota Watanabe to Share Insights on Japan’s Crypto Adoption at Consensus 2023

He will explain how Japan approached crypto while regulators in other major countries are having trouble figuring out how to deal with cryptocurrencies and Web3. As a result of his close relationship with the Japanese government in the formulation of the country’s Web3 strategy, he is regarded as the most respected expert on the subject.

Sota Watanabe, Founder of Astar Network, said: “I’m excited to join this group representing Japan’s crypto community to share insights with the Consensus community. Being a founder of the first public blockchain in Japan has led me to become involved in planning a national strategy to use digital assets and develop Web3 solutions. I want to bring those lessons to the US and other countries.”

A Path Forward in Web3

The outreach of Web3 will continue to be an aspect of Japan’s national plan even while lawmakers and regulators across the globe, from the United States to Europe to Asia, are becoming increasingly wary about cryptocurrencies. Japan was an early mover in the area, and the country learned some hard lessons from the collapse of Mt. Gox in 2014 and the record-breaking hack of Coincheck in 2018. As a result, Japan’s approach to regulation has lessened the impact of FTX’s collapse on Japanese consumers.

Today, the Japanese government has included Web3 as an integral part of its national strategy, and Sota Watanabe, CEO of Astar Network, is assisting not only the government but also the important industry players on the journey ahead in Web3. A number of Japan’s most successful companies, such as Toyota Motor Corporation and Sony Network Communications, have joined forces with Astar Network in order to learn more about the possibilities offered by Web3.

From the 26th to the 28th of April, CoinDesk will host the highly anticipated and prestigious Web3 event known as Consensus 2023. It is the largest and most influential event of its kind in the world, bringing together people from all different aspects of the cryptocurrency, blockchain, and Web3 communities. These people include developers, investors, entrepreneurs, brands, policymakers, and many more. More than 20,000 individuals from 112 different countries participated in the conference in 2022, and the event featured over 500 different thought leaders and speakers.

The Most Popular Blockchain in Japan

The Japanese Blockchain Association has determined that Astar Network is the most widely used blockchain in the nation, making it the premier Layer-1 platform in the country. It is the blockchain of choice for developers and businesses that are interested in pursuing opportunities in the Japanese Web3 market. Astar is the first public blockchain from the country to be listed in Japan despite the stringent requirements that Japan has for listing cryptocurrencies. The Japanese authorities have determined that Astar’s native token, ASTR, falls under the category of a cryptocurrency rather than a security.

Astar Network enables real interoperability for developers by providing cross-consensus messaging (XCM) and a cross-virtual machine (XVM), in addition to supporting the development of decentralized applications (dApps) using EVM and WASM smart contracts. The one-of-a-kind Build2Earn model that Astar has developed gives developers the ability to get paid through a dApp staking mechanism for the code and dApps that they develop.