On July 20, 2022, Cryptogram Venture (CGV) announced that “Tokyo Web3 Summer Hackathon (TWSH)”, the first Web3 hackathon in Japan initiated by CGV and supported by experts from institutions such as Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Keio University, Sony, Softbank, Asia Blockchain Gaming Alliance (ABGA), Cointelegraph Japan (CTJ), will be held soon.
It is reported that the (pre-) registration for participating in the project has started at https://www.web3hackathon.io/, and institutional cooperation, recruitment and negotiation are in progress.
This hackathon is held in Japan to support the Japanese government’s vigorous promotion of Web3. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida recently stated that the advent of the Web3 era might lead Japan’s economic growth; the Japanese government will undertake institutional reforms to create an environment that facilitate the creation of new services — including Web3-related infrastructure. Japan has an enormous potential in encryption and Web3 and may play an essential role in the global Web3 market.
The “Tokyo Web3 Summer Hackathon” will be “ Japan-based and global-oriented”, give full play to Japan’s unique “industry-government-academia” cooperation and innovation mechanism to discover, support, and help outstanding talents and teams in the Web3 field and explore the application potential of the Web3 on a global scale, facilitate teams and projects starting smoothly and achieving sustainable growth and development, and provide scientific and technological support and new vitality to the current social development and digital transformation of various industries.
Steve Chiu, founder of CGV and event organizer, said that the main topics of this campaign will cover Web3 protocol and infrastructure (L1/L2/cross-chain bridge, storage/identity/communication/audit, etc.); metaverse (virtual land, scenario development, platform building, content production, virtual human, etc.); NFT (new standard protocol, distribution platform, liquidity infrastructure, blue-chip assets, etc.); game (innovative games, basic development layer, distribution platform, guilds, etc.); DAO (basic tools, capital management platform, collection/self-help category, guild governance), etc.
Currently, the first batch of judges determined for the competition includes Matsuda Ikkei, member of the Research and Development Bureau of the MEXT; Yamanaka Naoaki, Vice President of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE) and Director of the Keio Leading-edge Laboratory of Science and Technology (KLL); Miyazawa Kazumasa, member of the Financial Review Council of the Financial Services Agency of Japan and the “first person” to make electronic payments in Japan; Yamada Yoshiyuki, former head of IT sales business, Softbank Corporation, and experts and scholars in the global crypto industry and Web3 field with a wide range of influence, representatives of investment and research institutions, well-known project founders, etc.
The hackathon will gather top industry institutions and potential projects. Participants will get the opportunity to have early contact with first-line projects and share with global organizations and practitioners in Web3 industry. Additionally, they will have access to receive investment and entrepreneurial guidance from top global VC institutions, win prizes with a total prize pool of $150,000, as well as the support of a million-dollar incubation fund.
According to the schedule of the hackathon, from July to September, project registration, screening and evaluation, project roadshow, NFT theme exhibition, and other activities will be organized; online pre-selection and outstanding project roadshow will start in mid-August; offline award ceremony is expected to be held in Japan in mid to late September.
Application for institutional cooperation (event support, project investment, media cooperation, etc.): Yurinatyou@cgv.fund
Website for project (pre-) registration: https://www.web3hackathon.io/
About Cryptogram Venture (CGV):
Cryptogram Venture (CGV) is a Japan-based research and investment institution engaged in crypto. With the business philosophy of “research-driven investment”, it has participated in early investments in FTX, Republic, CasperLabs, AlchemyPay, Graph, Bitkeep, Pocket, and Powerpool, as well as the Japanese government-regulated yen stablecoin JPYW, etc. Meanwhile, CGV FoF is the limited partner of Huobi venture, Rocktree capital, Kirin fund, etc. Currently, CGV has branches in Singapore, Canada, and China.
About MEXT
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) is one of Japan’s central government administrative organs responsible for coordinating education, science, technology, academic, cultural, and sports affairs in Japan.
About Keio University
Keio University, a world-renowned research and comprehensive university, is the first institution of higher education in Japan. The predecessor of Keio University was a private school of Western learning founded in 1858 for the dissemination of Western natural sciences in the Edo period. Under the guidance and influence of its founder, Yukichi Fukuzawa, Keio University has played a pioneering and leading role in Japanese society.
About Sony
As a multinational conglomerate based in Japan, Sony is mainly engaged in the development of electronic products. It operates in various fields, such as consumer electronics, electronic games, finance, entertainment, semiconductors, smartphones, cameras, camcorders, audio, etc. Additionally, it has created numerous worldwide brands, including Xperia, Walkman, Sony Music, Columbia Pictures, PlayStation, Alpha, etc.
About Softbank
Founded in Japan by Masayoshi Son in 1981 and listed in Japan in 1994, SoftBank Group is an integrated venture capital firm with a focus on investments in the IT industry, including networks and telecommunications. SoftBank has invested in over 600 companies worldwide and has majority stakes in more than 300 major IT companies across the world.
About Asia Blockchain Gaming Alliance (ABGA）
Asia Blockchain Gaming Alliance (ABGA) is a non-profit Blockchain Gaming Alliance launched by leading institutions in the gaming industry. It aims to gather industry information, screen outstanding teams and enterprises, broaden investment horizons, and promote the development of Blockchain Gaming industry, thus helping the Asian high-quality projects and teams gain a foothold in Asia and go global.
About Cointelegraph Japan (CTJ)
Cointelegraph Japan is an international media company based in Japanese-speaking areas. It focuses on blockchain fintech, and real-time, objective, and true reporting, adhering to originality and connecting the world.