Blade Labs unlocks Japan, as HBAR, the native token of the Hedera network, receives regulatory approval for listing in Japan.
Singapore — March 23, 2023 — Blade Labs, the leading wallet infrastructure provider for Hedera, and Mercury, a Japanese company operating a licensed cryptocurrency exchange CoinTrade, today announced a strategic collaboration to accelerate enterprise adoption of the Hedera network, an enterprise-grade Web3 technology which includes Nomura Holdings as one of its governing council members.
As part of this framework, HBARs have been listed on CoinTrade, becoming the first non-blockchain token to be approved for listing in a country with one of the most stringent listing and regulatory approval requirements.
Blade Labs will also assist Mercury’s wallet infrastructure development for their HBAR staking service product (due to launch soon).
The listing and approval of HBARs in Japan paves the way for an acceleration of enterprise adoption in the third largest economy in the world.
As the leading provider of Hedera network’s wallet infrastructure to enterprises, Blade Labs aims to facilitate the onboarding of Japanese enterprises and their users onto Web3.
Enterprise adoption of Web3 technology in Japan has accelerated significantly over the past year due to continued efforts by the regulators to provide legislative clarity for businesses operating in the country.
Japan was the first country to recognize Bitcoin as a legal payment method in April 2017. Since then, the Japanese government has taken steps to create an enabling environment for the use of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
This has included the development of self-regulatory guidelines for cryptocurrency exchanges, the introduction of a licensing system for exchanges, the creation of the Virtual Currency Exchange Association to oversee the industry, the implementation of a taxation system on cryptocurrency trading, and the recent passing of a landmark law clarifying the legal status of stablecoins. Further regulatory clarity around NFTs and DAOs is expected to be rolled out in the near future.
According to a survey by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, more than 77 percent of Japanese companies are aware of cryptocurrency and more than 20 percent of the companies have already adopted it.
Blade Lads Co-Founder and CEO, Sami Mian says, ‘Japan was one of the first adopters of cryptocurrency and a global leader in consumer protection legislation. Additionally, over the past few years, the regulatory landscape has been further prepared to provide increased regulatory clarity in an effort to accelerate enterprise adoption of Web3 technology. Blade Labs is delighted that Mercury has provided Japanese enterprises a compliant way to access HBAR and we look forward to providing assistance in wallet infrastructure to Mercury and other innovative companies who are looking to access this growing market’.
About Blade Labs
Blade Labs is the leading wallet infrastructure provider for the Hedera network, with a mission to enable the next billion users to safely and seamlessly transition between Web2 and Web3 activities via its frictionless onboarding, simple integrations and secure payment options.
Its flagship product, Blade Wallet, is an enterprise-grade, self-custody, third-party audited Web3 wallet which has contributed to the creation of more than 40% of all Hedera accounts since its inception, making it the leading wallet in the Hedera ecosystem.
Another suite of products created by the Blade Labs team to further its mission, BladeLinks, provides single-click solutions for user onboarding and registration, as well as NFT creation, sale, and distribution.
Finally, Blade Console is a web portal with low- and no-code Web3 developer tools facilitating user experience customization, quick-fire product launches, and advanced analytics via a user-friendly online dashboard.
To download a Blade Wallet, please visit https://bladewallet.io/
For more information on Blade Labs, please visit https://bladelabs.io/
