Blockstream partnership & new office announced in Japanese expansion
Blockstream, a blockchain technology firm headquartered in British Columbia, Canada, has moved to expand its activities in Japan with the opening of a new office and the announcement of a partnership with local companies.
The infrastructure development company has partnered with Diamond Hands and Fulgar Ventures, CoinDesk Japan reported. Diamond Hands is a Japan-based company involved in providing Bitcoin-related products. It helps companies to integrate Bitcoin and lightning payments into their services.
Based in Wilmington, Delaware, Fulgur Ventures invests in early-stage startups. It is particularly focused on Bitcoin and Lightning Network-related projects.
Bootstrapping brand awareness
Fulgur Ventures is Blockstream’s largest shareholder. The objective is to bootstrap brand awareness within Japan using these partnerships with local companies. To that end, Diamond Hands CEO Koji Higashi will become Blockstream’s brand ambassador. It’s thought that efforts will be made going forward to further expand partnerships with local Japanese companies.
Blockstream announced in a press release that it aims to drive adoption of self-custody technologies and Bitcoin layer-2 innovations within the East Asian country. Furthermore, it plans to drive adoption of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.
Commenting on the development, Blockstream Founder and CEO Adam Back stated:
"With increased regulatory clarity and rising institutional interest in Bitcoin now is the moment for Blockstream to establish a direct presence in Japan, one of our most important markets."
Back added that the company is looking forward to “empowering Japanese enterprises and individuals to fully harness Bitcoin as the foundation for a financial future that's secure, scalable and decentralized.”
Tokyo office
Another aspect to the expansion involves the opening of an office in Tokyo by Blockstream.
Adam Back is a Bitcoin OG who has often been the subject of speculation in attempts to identify pseudonymous Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto. Back proposed Hashcash, a proof-of-work-based system and forerunner to Bitcoin, in 1997.
The Japanese corporate world has demonstrated its interest in Bitcoin in recent months, with local company Metaplanet launching an ambitious plan to acquire 21,000 Bitcoin by 2026, having adopted the Bitcoin playbook pioneered by American business intelligence and Bitcoin development company MicroStrategy.
Blockstream’s investment arm, Blockstream Capital, has also been active in the market. Last month, the company invested $75 million into crypto custodian Komainu. Komainu is a joint venture between CoinShares, Ledger and Japanese global financial services company Nomura.
The same month, the company launched two institutional-grade Bitcoin investment funds. The funds, Blockstream Income Fund and Blockstream Alpha Fund, have been devised to cater to a growing demand from institutions for transparent, regulated and secure financial products.
A third fund, Blockstream Yield Fund, is due to launch later this year. It will offer Bitcoin holders consistent, low-risk returns on their holdings.
Blockstream was founded in 2014. In its earlier years, the company has served as a technology provider relative to the Liquid Network. In Core Lightning, it has developed a well-recognized implementation of the Lightning Network protocol.
To facilitate Bitcoin holders in terms of self-custody of the leading crypto asset, Blockstream developed Blockstream Jade, a hardware wallet built on open-source software. The device offers air-gapped functionality, meaning that users can perform transactions without connecting the device itself directly to the internet.
