(Kitco News) - SoftBank, the Japan-based multinational conglomerate, has revealed that it will become an official validator for Oasys, a “gaming-optimized blockchain designed for gamers and developers alike, with a focus on the future of blockchain gaming.”
According to a press release shared with Kitco Crypto, SoftBank elected to sign on with the project due to Oasys’ advanced technological capabilities.
“We are very excited about the Oasys blockchain's flexible, user-centric architecture, which meets the needs of both users and IP content owners, and look forward to working with Oasys to promote Web3's social implementation and resolve social issues,” said Keiichi Makizono, Senior Vice President & CIO of SoftBank.
Aside from participating as a validator, SoftBank also intends to work with Oasys to explore other potential collaborations, including the development of blockchain-based services.
Some other companies that comprise the 21 initial validators for the Oasys network include Bandai Namco Research, SEGA, Netmarble, and Square Enix.
Square Enix, the Japanese gaming studio behind the popular Final Fantasy franchise, is also in the headlines on Thursday after they announced plans to launch their first Web3 game – Symbiogenesis – on the Polygon network, Forkast reported.
Square Enix has referred to Symbiogenesis as an interactive digital collectible art experience where players can use and trade non-fungible tokens (NFT) as items within the game. It’s expected to be available in the spring of 2023.
After the addition of SoftBank, Oasys plans to invite other companies with a “high level of trust and performance on a global scale” to participate as validators to help bring more stability and strength to the network.
Ultimately, Oasys wants to remove the limit on the number of validator slots to help further decentralize the network by enabling public participation through a council.
“With SoftBank coming onboard as a validator, Oasys will not only expand the stability and ecosystem of the Oasys chain, but also aim to strengthen business collaboration with Oasys,” said Daiki Moriyama, Director of Oasys. “We look forward to working with SoftBank to develop the blockchain gaming industry by fostering relationships and synergies with its group companies and partners.”
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SBI tightens its grip on crypto trading in Japan
Japanese financial services giant SBI Holdings has announced the successful takeover of rival crypto exchange Bitpoint, a move that enables the firm to tighten its grip on Japan’s domestic crypto market. This is the second time SBI has absorbed a domestic rival.
According to the announcement from SBI, the company was able to acquire a controlling (51%) stake in Bitpoint last May, and it has now agreed to purchase the remaining 49% of shares to become the sole owner. SBI did not disclose how much it paid to acquire the remaining shares.
Bitpoint is now a “wholly owned subsidiary” firm under the umbrella of SBI Holdings, which also owns the TaoTao crypto trading platform, an exchange that was once partly owned by Yahoo Japan. SBI also operates SBI VC Trade, a crypto exchange the firm developed in-house. To help improve the services offered through Bitpoint, SBI plans to tap into liquidity from its U.K.-based subsidiary B2C2.
The diversity of the crypto trading scene in Japan continues to dwindle as the crypto winter witnessed multiple firms exit the market. In December, Kraken announced that it would be shuttering its Japanese exchange, and Coinbase followed suit the next month, citing the need to cut costs. Out of the leading exchanges in the crypto ecosystem, Binance is the only one that currently maintains a presence in Japan following its acquisition of Sakura Exchange BitCoin in November.
