Japan’s blockchain industry grows by 30% in 2020

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Japan’s blockchain industry has been growing rapidly in 2020 despite the economic struggles and the global pandemic. A new report by one of the country’s largest digital currency companies revealed that the sector has grown by over 30% since 2019.

Japan has been a trailblazer in the blockchain industry for years, being one of the first countries to formulate and implement a regulatory framework for the industry. Its blockchain-friendly approach has led to a rapid growth of the industry, a new report now shows.

In the past year, the industry has grown by 30%, the report by the Monex Crypto Bank showed. The bank is a subsidiary of the Monex Group, the operator of Coincheck exchange which it acquired in 2018.

The report revealed that as of May this year, there were 430 blockchain companies in Japan. This is a 30.7% rise from the 329 companies reported in July last year.

64% of these companies focus primarily on blockchain technology, the report showed, with the rest being involved in a secondary capacity. The report further revealed that blockchain technology is not limited to startups, with 193 of the companies being labeled as large corporations. Of these, over half focus primarily on blockchain technology.

Moreover, there are 31 publicly-listed companies in Japan that are pursuing blockchain technology.

On the available blockchain products, the study found that finance had the highest share, accounting for 19% of the 422 active products. Entertainment accounts for 10%, with service, infrastructure, real estate and retail all accounting for less than 3%.

The digital currency exchange and mining sectors are still the biggest in the industry, the report notes. However, the gaming sector is quickly rising to prominence, using blockchain to change the experience for both the operators and the gamers.

While the Japanese blockchain and digital currency exchange industry has come a long way, it still faces challenges that have hindered its growth. Hacks and data breaches have been one of its biggest threats.

Coincheck, an exchange now owned by Monex Group, suffered the largest hack in the industry in 2018, losing over $500 million worth of digital currencies. Last month, the same exchange suffered a data breach where hackers obtained users’ personal data.