Japan Edges Closer to its First IEO – an NFT Platform

Japan is about to welcome its first initial exchange offering (IEO) – and yes, you guessed it, as with almost everything else that is currently happening in the crypto world, it’s non-fungible token (NFT)-flavored.

Per a press release from the crypto exchange Coincheck, which will host the IEO, and a joint release from the companies behind the launch, the project also has a manga bent.

In a plan first formulated back in August last year, the IEO involves the launch of a platform named Hashpalette, a joint venture that involves the Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed firm Link-U, a software developer for manga-related apps, and HashPort, a business consulting provider that makes use of blockchain technology.

Coincheck will issue and list the project’s palette token (PLT), which is initially launching in testnet phase on its own Palette Chain network, but will have cross-chain operability on the Ethereum (ETH), Neo (NEO) and Ontology (ONT) protocols.

The exchange said that it would “provide technical support” to the project and has also joined the Hashpalette consortium, which includes members such as crypto exchanges OKCoin Japan and Huobi, as well as IOST, the ICON Foundation, the crypto-keen internet marketing company and crypto exchange operator Ceres and the equally crypto-keen mobile gaming firm Animoca Brands.

The operators claim that the platform will allow a large range of Japanese manga, art and music producers to distribute their work using NFT technology. Coincheck added that sports-related tokens would also be forthcoming.

Coincheck has firmly thrown its lot in with the NFT crowd, and has been something of an early adopter in Japan’s fast-growing NFTs scene. The firm has been working on its own NFT marketplace and earlier this year snapped up the operator of the miime NFT trading platform, Metaps Alpha, in an M&A deal, converting it into a fully owned subsidiary.

The exchange has also this year agreed on a deal with the sport-themed cryptoasset and NFT developers Chiliz and Socios, which will see the Japanese firm list offerings on its own NFT trading platform.
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