Поділитися цією статтею
Japanese Billionaire: ICOs 'Democratize Venture Financing'
Japanese billionaire Taizo Son believes ICOs will significantly impact how startups raise capital.
Автор Stan Higgins
A Japanese billionaire and venture capitalist said this week that he believes initial coin offerings (ICOs) will become a significant source of funding for startups in the future.
Speaking with CNBC amidst the Singapore Week of Innovation & Technology, Taizo Son remarked that that ICOs – through which cryptographic tokens are sold in an effort to bootstrap a blockchain network – could be "major methods" for startups to access capital.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Не пропустіть жодної історії.Підпишіться на розсилку Crypto Daybook Americas вже сьогодні. Переглянути всі розсилки
He told the publication:
"[ICOs are] very good because they democratize venture financing for not only professionals like venture capitalists, but also individuals can participate in exciting projects from start-ups to support."
Son is perhaps best known as the founder and current chairman of GungHo, a major Japanese gaming company that has released games like Puzzle & Dragons and Ragnarok Online. He also founded Mistletoe, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage startups.
His comments are notable given recent reports that Japanese officials are said to be moving closer toward new regulations around the funding model.
According to Nikkei, Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) is currently weighing how to go about overseeing ICOs in the country. The FSA has played a leading role in developing rules for cryptocurrencies in Japan, and the developments come after Japan officially classified bitcoin as a kind of payment instrument.
Image via Latitude59/YouTube
Більше для вас
Що варто знати:
- 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.
Більше для вас
LUNC Surges Over 160% in a Week as Do Kwon Sentencing and Token Burns Draw Traders
The rally is driven by speculation that a final verdict could bring clarity to the project, as well as technical factors like token burns.
Що варто знати:
- Terra Classic (LUNC) surged 74% to $0.0000072, up 160% in the past week, on exploding trading volume, ahead of Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon's sentencing on Dec. 11.
- The rally is driven by speculation that a final verdict could bring clarity to the project, as well as technical factors like token burns, with 849 million LUNC destroyed in the past week.
- The token's momentum is also fueled by Binance's pause on LUNC withdrawals ahead of the Terra Chain's v2.18 upgrade, which aims to improve network stability, despite the token remaining volatile.
Top Stories
