Share this article
Orix, Shizuoka Become Latest Japanese Banks to Trial Blockchain
A group of Japanese financial services and technology companies have formed a new blockchain research initiative.
By Stan Higgins
Updated Dec 10, 2022, 8:06 p.m. Published Feb 23, 2016, 8:25 p.m.
A group of Japanese banks and technology companies, including Orix, Shizuoka Bank, NTT Data and NTT DoCoMo Ventures, have formed a new blockchain research initiative.
Announced today, the news marks the latest move by members of Japan's finance and technology sectors to embrace or experiment with blockchain technology.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
As a result of the announcement, NTT Data, a professional services firm with a focus on IT consulting, will work with digital currency startup Orb to research the technology with the initiative's partners.
Orix and Shizuoka, the banks involved with the project, said they plan to test international remittance and transaction settlement applications of the tech. Orix is a consumer-focused financial services firm founded in the 1960s, while Shizuoka Bank, one of Japan’s regional financial institutions, was founded in the 1940s.
NTT DoCoMo Ventureshttps://www.nttdocomo-v.com/en/
, the venture arm of major mobile network operator NTT DoCoMO, will act as mediator between the major companies involved.
Further, the group says it intends to branch out beyond financial applications of the technology, noting:
"The companies also plan to work with partners from various industries to investigate applications to services using blockchain technology in fields of business besides finance."
Sea change in Japan
The announcement comes amid an increase in awareness in blockchain technology among Japanese financial services firms.
Earlier this month, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFG) disclosed that it was working on an internal digital currency project, while more recently, financial services giant Mizuho announced that it is working with Microsoft Japan on a trial system for syndicated loans.
Activity can also be seen on the investment side, as regional finance group SBI Holdings has made recent investments in bitcoin and blockchain startups like Kraken and Ripple through its venture arm.
Parasol image via Shutterstock
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
CME loses top spot to Binance in bitcoin futures open interest as institutional demand wanes
Behind the move is a sharp narrowing in the profitability of the basis trade, in which traders attempt to capture a spread by buying spot bitcoin while selling BTC futures.
What to know:
- Binance has now become the largest venue for bitcoin futures open interest with roughly 125,000 BTC, or about $11.2 billion in notional value.
- CME bitcoin futures open interest has fallen to around 123,000 BTC, its lowest level since February 2024.
- Tightening spot futures spreads triggered basis trade unwinds and reduced institutional demand on CME.
Top Stories
