Animoca, RootstockLabs partner to bring Bitcoin DeFi to Japanese institutions
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Animoca Brands Japan has partnered with RootstockLabs to introduce Bitcoin-native decentralized finance (DeFi) tools to Japanese corporations and institutions.
The collaboration aims to localize and deploy Rootstock’s institutional program for the Japanese market, enabling companies to manage Bitcoin (BTC) as part of their corporate treasury strategies while accessing onchain financial tools secured by Bitcoin’s Proof-of-Work (PoW), according to a Tuesday announcement shared with Cointelegraph.
“In Japan, an increasing number of companies are beginning to utilize cryptoassets as part of their financial and treasury strategies,” said Kensuke Amo, CEO of Animoca Brands Japan. “Through this partnership, Animoca Brands Japan and RootstockLabs will support corporate adoption of cryptoassets in a manner compliant with Japan's regulatory environment,” he added.
Rootstock is a Bitcoin sidechain secured by a majority of Bitcoin’s total hash power through merged mining. The design allows Rootstock to inherit Bitcoin’s security while supporting Ethereum-compatible smart contracts. RootstockLabs is a core contributor to Rootstock.
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Animoca Japan, RootstockLabs eye Bitcoin treasury services
The partnership will focus on helping Japanese companies manage Bitcoin as part of their treasury operations, including exploring Bitcoin-based financial tools and services built on Rootstock. The companies said they will also look at ways firms could use these tools to improve treasury efficiency, while staying within Japan’s regulatory framework.
The two companies will assess the use of Rootstock-based assets such as Rootstock Bitcoin (rBTC), a Bitcoin-pegged token used in its DeFi ecosystem, and Rootstock Infrastructure Framework (RIF), a suite of utility protocols built on the Rootstock sidechain to scale Bitcoin by enabling faster, cheaper decentralized applications (dApps).
Animoca Brands Japan may offer these services through its Digital Asset Treasury Management Support Service.
Related: Japan's Financial Regulator to Ban Crypto Insider Trading
Bitcoin gains ground as a treasury asset in Japan
Japanese companies have shown growing interest in holding Bitcoin as a long-term strategic reserve. Metaplanet is the most prominent corporate adopter of a Bitcoin treasury strategy in the country, with a balance of 35,102 BTC worth about $3.09 billion, according to BitcoinTreasuries.NET.
Other publicly traded Japanese companies that have built Bitcoin positions include NEXON Co., Ltd., which holds about 1,717 BTC, followed by Remixpoint with roughly 1,411 BTC and Anap Holdings Inc. with around 1,347 BTC.
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