Kitano, CEO of Trias Japan, the Japanese subsidiary of the next generation blockchain “Trias”, talks with the industrial expert Mr. Takeda Kyoji on topics of crypto industry in Japan, as well as Trias’ future development in Japan.
Mr. Takeda Kyoji has been working in the blockchain industry for many years and is currently working with the government to promote the digital transformation of different industries, including the traditional financial and securities industry. He is a founding member of the BitArgo Exchange (currently TaoTao, and sold to Yahoo!).
Government DX promotion status
The two sides began with a brief greeting.
Kitano: Mr. Takeda is currently involved in the government’s DX promotion support. This is an urgent issue that is also positioned in the government strategy, but what is the current situation?
Takeda: I think the executive DX promotion can be divided into two main parts: The “offensive DX” and the “defensive DX”. The former is to use information technology to enhance the value of existing products and services and improve their value, the latter is to improve the efficiency of administrative work and save labour. Government DX promotions are often talked about in the latter case, but these are like two wheels on a car, and I think it’s important to do them simultaneously.
Kitano: Certainly, according to the NTT Data Management Consulting Institute, the DX promotion phase of many domestic companies, including local governments, seems to be centered on “defensive DX.”
Takeda: “Defensive DXS” are easy to combine and are easy to get progress. We are also promoting support aimed at “balanced administration” so that resources gained through the digitization and cost-saving of administration can be allocated to sectors that need more human resources. The Offensive DX, on the other hand, is difficult and often complex in design. Many local governments are reluctant to do so, but it is important to push for an offensive DX in terms of returning citizens.
Kitano: In the case of the offensive DX, Aquacoin, the electronic regional currency of Kisarazu City in Chiba Prefecture, is popular.
Takeda: The local currency is an easy-to-understand form of an ‘offensive DX.’ It can not only be used for shopping in the area, but also will increase the convenience of citizens if it can be connected to administrative services such as tax collection and various payments. Moreover, if combined with activities such as the issuance of coupons to migrants, they might be utilized from the point of view of promoting migration.
Use blockchain for local currency
Kitano: First of all, the introduction of local currency is one of the main purposes to overcome the current situation where there is no progress in introducing credit cards due to high administrative costs. However, with the current local currency, after all, it is necessary to use cash to top up, I think this problem can not be solved. I think the advantages of using blockchain-based token-type local currencies here are obviously huge, what do you think?
Takeda: Of course, there are still some problems to be solved, but with tokens, it’s easy to connect not only within the region but also outside the region, and cross-border transactions can go smoothly.
Kitano: Also, the stores that introduce it have great advantages. Typically, it can take up to a month for a credit card merchant to transfer sales, while token-based digital transfer uses blockchain technology to ensure transparent transactions while ownership can be transferred immediately. In other words, cash flows more easily. It eliminates the need for many intermediaries and reduces social costs.
The blockchain Trias is developing utilizes TEE technology, graph algorithms and more to implement efficient consensus algorithms that can process 100,000 transactions per second. Given that bitcoin, which is already recognized as a payment method, can process around seven transactions per second, I think Trias has great technology to support payment methods. In addition, the Trias blockchain is highly secure, making it a good fit as the underlying technology for Japan’s token-type local currency.
When promoting technology, users are the base
Kitano: Another use case that can be considered from an administrative DX promotion and blockchain perspective is managing official documents on the blockchain. In Japan, the issue of forged official documents has become endemic under Abe. If bureaucrats and civil servants could rewrite documents themselves, we would no longer know what to believe. Here, trying to manage documents on the blockchain seems like a very natural idea, which is hard to tamper with and can be traced throughout history.
Takeda: That’s right. Of course, once recorded on the blockchain, it is extremely difficult to tamper with the data. However, we can’t say it is a panacea to solve the problem of document fraud.
Kitano: Please elaborate.
Takeda: Blockchain does not prevent tampering with data before it is recorded on the blockchain. In other words, it is not a mechanism to prevent fraud during the document creation phase.
Kitano: I see.
Takeda: But certainly, if stored on paper and blockchain, the latter has a big advantage. First, the principle for creating administrative documents in the future is to manage electronic media like books and originals. In any case, the illusion that blockchain is the brilliant technology that solves all problems is dangerous. Even good technology may ultimately depend on the user.
Kitano: Exactly. While wanting to create solutions through technology, it may be important that the people who use them are valuable and kind.
Japan’s NFT market has huge potential
Takeda: Speaking of Trias, there seems to have been an NFT game called Triathon released recently.
Kitano: Yes. Triathon allows users to upgrade and combat spacecraft NFT generated using Trias tokens. There are Daemons, Delusionist, Destroyer, and each serves a different purpose. So far, it’s no different than a typical game, but what makes Triathon extraordinary is that the game itself plays a role in the Trias blockchain’s security testing and verification process. For example, Destroyer can attack blockchain in different ways and Daemon blocks it. Trias Blockchain is expected to run various DApps on it as layer 1 blockchain in the future, but the process of participating in these security tests is exactly the process of playing Triathon.
Takeda: That’s an interesting idea.
Kitano: We’re developing a Play to Earn system that allows a lot of people, with or without a technical background, to participate in the Trias community.
Takeda: Speaking of NFT, Beeple’s digital artwork, The First 5000 Days, was sold out for about 7.5 billion yen and got a lot of attention all of a sudden. How does Trias think of the NFT market in Japan?
Kitano: Japan is a world-famous “kingdom of animation” and “kingdom of games” and has a prominent influence in the world of animation and games. Many IPs have become popular, but they are fading from people’s memory. On the other hand, with the popularity of NFT, many projects are copying Japanese IP. In this case, it is highly likely that Japan’s major IP operators will enter the NFT business. In fact, Square Enix just announced a few days ago that it plans to move into NFT games entirely. The company also invested in the popular NFT game The Sandbox.
Takeda: You’ve probably noticed a shift from a “centralized” to a “decentralized” game world.
Kitano: Yes. As a result, Trias holds high expectations for the Japanese NFT market. My Crypto Heores, a blockchain game from Japan, is an Ethereum-based blockchain game with the highest transaction volume, transaction volume and DAU in the world, which has a high affinity with NFT games. I think the user base is also very strong.
Takeda: Crypto asset exchange Coincheck is also running a Beta version of the NFT marketplace, and the environment is gradually improving. On the other hand, there are usability issues with current NFT transactions. For the average user, wallet management is difficult to get along with. Appropriate IT knowledge is required.
Kitano: I think this is a problem we face in all areas using blockchain technology, not just in NFT games. When it comes to UI/UX that is easy for everyone to use and accept, it can take quite a while to develop. However, if the problem here is not solved, the spread of NFT will also be caught up. Triathon also plans to grow into a Metaverse in the future, but we are pushing to create an environment where everyone can participate in the community and enjoy digital life, regardless of their IT background or not.
Takeda: I’m looking forward to the development of Trias and Triathon.
Kitano: Thank you for your time today.
Triathon: www.triathon.space
Official website: https://www.trias.one
Whitepaper: https://www.trias.one/whitepaper
Telegram: https://t.me/triaslab
Twitter: https://twitter.com/triaslab
Discord: https://discord.gg/uSHpezwKWZ
Trade on Pancake: https://triaslab.medium.com/how-to-buy-trias-on-pancakeswap-d9bd1628e69f
