Efforts continue in Japan to bring about optimized regulation

India’s HPCL Embraces Blockchain Tech to Streamline Purchase OrdersHindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) has forged a partnership with Zupple Labs, an Indian Web3 startup, to upgrade its purchase order processes through blockchain.Photo by Zbynek Burival on UnsplashTamper-proof documentationAccording to local media publication Business Today, the collaboration leverages blockchain technology to issue tamper-proof digital purchase orders via LegitDoc, ensuring instant verification on the NEAR blockchain. The move is a significant step toward enhancing transparency and efficiency in the purchase order system, addressing long-standing challenges in the industry.Notably, HPCL has awarded purchase orders worth $52 billion in the past five years, making these orders economically significant. Until now, automating purchase order verification for third-party requests outside of HPCL proved to be particularly challenging, resulting in substantial manual labor to process external verification requests.With the implementation of LegitDoc, historically fraud-prone purchase orders can be seamlessly issued to the relevant stakeholders. This breakthrough empowers participants to verify the authenticity of these orders with a simple click, reducing the risk of forgery and expediting the verification process.HPCL’s use of blockchain technology in partnership with Zupple Labs serves multiple purposes. It aims to combat purchase order forgery, simplify vendor access to trade finance through collateralization, and provide evidence of turnover, ultimately facilitating participation in public procurement processes. The facility will soon be accessible to both the public and vendors, with the launch set for October.Neil Martis, the founder of LegitDoc, expressed his enthusiasm about HPCL’s adoption of their technology. He noted:“It’s exciting to see an oil conglomerate such as HPCL use our technology LegitDoc, to secure billions of dollars’ worth of purchase orders. This serves as a testament to the confidence that businesses and governments have placed in our blockchain platform over the years in protecting important documents.”Utilizing two blockchainsThe approach taken in this instance relies on the use of two parallel blockchains which act as settlement layers: the NEAR public blockchain and permissioned private blockchain Hyperledger Fabric. As of mid-October, 3,000 purchase orders had been issued using blockchain.HPCL’s move to digitize and secure its purchase order system not only benefits the corporation but also has industry-wide implications. By promoting digital automation and trust, it sets a precedent for transparency and efficiency in the oil and gas sector. This adoption of blockchain technology aligns with a global trend of enhancing digital trust and streamlining operations across various sectors.Further application of blockchain techIt’s worth noting that this isn’t the first instance of Zupple Labs’ blockchain technology-based solutions being employed by the government in India. LegitDoc has previously been adopted by the administration of Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, for issuing tribal caste certificates in 2022, in that instance by way of the Polygon blockchain.Moreover, the technology played a pivotal role in issuing COVID-19 vaccine certificates in Maharashtra in 2021, while over 100,000 degree certificates were issued in 2022. These instances underscore the versatility and growing acceptance of blockchain technology in modern governance and business processes.

FTX Opts Out of Plan to Sell off FTX JapanThe FTX Debtor that was brought in to manage the bankrupt estate of the failed FTX cryptocurrency exchange has decided to not follow through with a plan to sell off the Japanese business.That’s according to a report by Nikkei on Thursday. In November 2022 a new management team was brought in to restructure the FTX business immediately following the business having filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the courts in Delaware in the United States.Photo by Jezael Melgoza on UnsplashOptimizing value for creditorsThe original plan was to look to sell off subsidiary companies within the group such as FTX Japan, FTX Turkey, and FTX Europe. Those plans have now at the very least been delayed. Nikkei cited an FTX executive who claimed that it’s not so much that plans have been delayed but rather that the FTX Debtor has identified another approach that will likely optimize value for creditors.“They hope to increase the price by selling the entire group, rather than selling subsidiaries in various regions,” Nikkei’s FTX source stated.Rebooting the exchangeThe response from creditors to this news has been largely positive. While the notion of a rebooted FTX business has proven to be controversial within the crypto space, most creditors recognize that the business can provide much greater value for them if it is restarted internationally.Global investment banking firm Perella Weinberg Partners (PWP) was brought in by the FTX Debtor in November 2022 to carry out a strategic review of the assets held by the FTX group. In a recent bankruptcy court hearing in Delaware, one of its partners stated that they are currently in the process of inviting bids from interested parties.At that time, PWP indicated that the Debtor was looking to revive the international FTX business. That would likely mean an entity headquartered outside the United States. It remains to be seen what will happen in the case of the FTX US business. Due to an unwelcoming regulatory approach in the US right now, setting up a crypto business there is seen as having additional risk factors.Asian interestA number of weeks ago, the Debtor filed a list of interested parties. The list included a number of high-profile Asian companies, although it’s not clear if their interest lies in the business in its entirety or specific FTX assets.Among them was Japanese telecoms firm Docomo. Tokyo-headquartered global financial services company Nomura also featured. Japan’s largest Ecommerce company, Rakuten, also signed a letter of intent in expressing its interest. FTX Japan had attracted 41 bidders. It’s being speculated that some of these Japanese entities will now bid on the entire business or join consortiums who will do so.FTX Japan solventCreditors of FTX Japan have fared much better than their international counterparts. In the wake of the collapse of the Mt.Gox cryptocurrency exchange in 2014, the Japanese authorities set to work on providing greater protections for customers. As a consequence, FTX Japan was required to ring-fence customer funds. For that reason, Japanese customers have already been given access to their funds.In a recent exchange on Twitter, well-known American investor Mark Cuban pointed out that Japanese regulators had been successful in protecting FTX investors in Japan. Cuban made the point to former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulator John Reed Stark, underscoring the failure of US regulators in doing so.

Fujitsu Launches Blockchain Collaboration With Asian Development BankFujitsu, the Tokyo-based global information technology solutions company, announced that it will be launching a new blockchain-based platform at the end of this month.The announcement was made via a press release published to the Japanese company’s website on Thursday. This comes after the successful completion of a year-long pilot trial using Fujitsu’s blockchain technology, ConnectionChain. The trial focused on enhancing cross-border settlements of securities in various regions, including Japan, China, South Korea, and Southeast Asian nations, as stated in the company’s press release.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashInitial trial project successBuilding upon the positive outcomes of the trial project, Fujitsu is set to introduce the Fujitsu Web3 Acceleration Platform at the end of June. The pilot initiative commenced in January 2022 in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank, based in the Philippines, along with ConsenSys, a blockchain infrastructure company, enterprise technology firm R3, and Soramitsu, a blockchain tech company headquartered in Tokyo.Fujitsu intends to further explore the potential of blockchain technology and the decentralized nature of the emerging internet wave known as Web3 to foster market connections and societal growth. The company is part of a consortium of prominent Japanese firms that announced the establishment of a “Japan Metaverse Economic Zone” on February 23. By leveraging blockchain and the metaverse, which is an essential component of Web3, Fujitsu envisions opportunities for expansion and development across various industries and economies.Metaverse use caseThere’s a growing need for a genuine metaverse to serve as a hub that connects different industries, emphasizing the suitability of blockchain for this purpose. Companies often have their own Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that they prefer to use exclusively. To overcome this fragmentation, a transparent and decentralized medium is required, which blockchain technology can provide.Fujitsu is a significant player in the Japanese digital technology services sector, with consolidated revenues of 3.7 trillion yen ($28 billion) for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, according to information available on its website. The company’s commitment to exploring the potential of blockchain and its involvement in the creation of the “Japan Metaverse Economic Zone” showcases its interest in driving innovation and connectivity in the evolving digital landscape.Late last year, the company entered into a strategic agreement with SettleMint, a low-code platform for blockchain application development, in an effort to accelerate development of its enterprise blockchain and track and trust solutions. In February, the firm announced the launch of its Web3 Acceleration Platform, which it describes as “a future community for users in start-ups, partner companies, and universities working to build the next generation of Web3 applications and services.”As Fujitsu prepares to launch its new platform, the industry eagerly anticipates the impact it will have on cross-border settlements and market connectivity. With the potential for blockchain and the metaverse to revolutionize industries and economies, Fujitsu’s foray into this space adds further confidence in Web3 development given the company’s stature.