More and more countries are accepting cryptocurrencies and NFTs now. Even the digital hub Japan recently distributes some awards to its local authorities in form of NFTs. So that they can appreciate their hard work in developing the country digitally and solving local issues with technology.
In total 7 Mayors the award under the “Summer Digi Denkoshien 2022” ceremony. These awards were handed by the Cabinet Secretariat (Hirokazu Matsuno, the nation's Chief Cabinet Secretary, is in charge of the Cabinet Secretariat, that's a government organization) in presence of the Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida.
The award was distributed to appreciate the ideas used by these Mayors to boost the digital economies in their respective cities. Out of these Mayor, one was the Mayor of Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture, he was presented with a reward for his idea of using electric vehicles to make deliveries. The next award was received by the Maebashi in the Gunma Prefecture on the idea of using mobile cameras to monitor the traffic conditions in the city.
These mayors received NFT that were generated on the Ethereum network. A number of Japanese startups, including the top domestic cryptocurrency exchange bitFlyer, provided technical support for the offering. The assets were produced utilizing the protocol for proof-of-attendance (POAP). Usually minted on the xDai chain, POAP-type NFT are used during special events. These assets cannot be given to someone else. They have been designed to be perfect for memorials as well.
Four businesses—IndieSquare, bitFlyer Holdings, TREE Digital Studio, and Tomonari Kougei—sponsored the award presentation. The NFTs were also released using the Hazama base, a cheap blockchain network provided by Indiesquare. Hazama Base enables the manufacture of NFTs without coding, according to the news article.
Due to the non-transferability of these NFTs, they cannot be bought or sold on the secondary market. The only people who can possess these assets are the mayors who got them.
Japan’s increasing interest in the crypto assets
Japan has a reputation for promoting technology. Additionally praised for encouraging innovation, the nation regulates cryptocurrency as a tradeable asset. Japan's Prime Minister has already expressed his support for the usage of NFTs. As a result, this government's proposal might be widely embraced in the nation or worldwide.
The media site claimed that other related NFTs were also issued and given out in May of this year as well at a gathering of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's youth branch (LDP). Last time the awards were given by the LDP but this year the government itself came forward to represent this award. The same Hazama base was used at that time as well.
This year, Kishida has specifically mentioned NFTs a number of times. The PM has promised to assist startups in their efforts to grow by revising burdensome tax laws because he is sure that NFTs and innovations related to the metaverse would fuel Web3-powered growth for Japan.
During the cryptocurrency market's peak last year, the NFT market experienced tremendous growth, helping several digital assets to record highs. Since then, several digital assets have lost more than 70% of their floor values due to the current broad crypto collapse, which has also caused a sharp decrease in the NFT market.
But fascinatingly, over the past few weeks, the NFT market appears to be testing an upward trend once more. Despite the fact that many experts dismissed NFTs as a bull run-fueled craze, their recent adoption in Japan demonstrates that their potential market has grown significantly.
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