🇯🇵Current situation of the NFT market in Japan
Hi,
My name is Ikehaya, I’m an NFT collector.
I have CryptoPunk #2280 BAYC #5643 and so on. (OpenSea)
And I also run my own NFT collection.
My collection “CryptoNinja” has one of the highest trading volumes in Japan.
In this article, I will tell you about the situation of NFT market in Japan.
The Japanese market is immature
First of all, I would like to emphasize that the NFT market in Japan is very small.
Take a look at the numbers for the top 5 collections in Japan.
The transaction volume per week is as follows;
generativemasks |69.3 ETH
CryptoNinja_NFT | 63.8 ETH
onigiriman1998 | 48.8 ETH
lissage-angels | 27 ETH
poki01-collection | 17.7 ETH
Yes, the trading volume per week is less than 100 ETH, even for the most popular collections.
For your reference, here are the rankings for OpenSea. This is also the trading volume for one week.
The difference in trading volume between Japan and overseas is more than 300 ~ 500 times.
Why aren’t NFTs gaining momentum in Japan?
The Japanese market is very unique.
For many Japanese, “only English” is a big hurdle.
Needless to say, English is the official language of the NFT world.
The Japanese language used in Metamask and OpenSea is unnatural and makes people feel uncomfortable.
Due to the language barrier, Japanese people have not yet been able to participate in the NFT market.
Furthermore, regulations on crypto assets are very strict.
When a startup company tries to do business related to crypto assets, it is required to comply with the same level of regulations as existing financial institutions.
Many companies have given up on expanding in Japan and have left the market.
And the Japanese are conservative.
We have an idiom in our society, “A nail that stands will be hammered down”.
Resistance to new technology is very strong.
As a result, the competitiveness of Japanese industry continues to decline.
In addition, the taxation system for investment in crypto assets in Japan is also unfavorable for investors.
When an investor makes a profit of $1M, about half, or $550K, is imposed as tax.
This poor taxation system is also a hindrance to the development of the crypto asset industry in Japan.
Due to these various reasons, the NFT industry in Japan is still immature.
Some promising developments🌱
However, the wave of the NFT industry is steadily coming to Japan.
Today, many illustrators have started to sell their NFTs on OpenSea.
Naoki Saito, one of the most influential illustrators in Japan, recently started selling NFTs. His work sold out quickly and is now available for trade.
Major companies are also entering the market one after another.
SBI, a major financial institution, recently acquired the NFT marketplace.
GMO Internet Group has already launched NFT Marketplace.
Rakuten, the e-commerce giant that could be called Japan’s Amazon, has also announced its entry into the NFT market.
And more and more foreign investors are buying Japanese NFTs.
Several international collectors have already invested in our CryptoNinja.
Some international collectors are already paying attention to the Japanese market.
Find the next Pokemon🚀
As a collector, my interest lies in seeing the birth of powerful characters like Pokemon, Super Mario, and Naruto.
The culture of manga, anime, and video games is deeply rooted in Japan.
Although the Japanese market is still small at the moment, I am sure that a huge NFT collection will emerge!
As a Japanese, I believe that I have a duty to boost the NFT market in Japan.
If you have any questions about the Japanese market, please feel free to DM me on Twitter anytime.
