India, Japan associations ink deal to grow Web3 ecosystem

The Bharat Web3 Association (BWA), an industry body formed to promote and grow the Web3 industry in India, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japan ANICANA Dealers Association (JADA) to explore collaborative opportunities in Web3 technologies.

Both the associations would engage in joint initiatives focused on Web3-related advocacy, educational conferences, workshops, and thought leadership activities, the BWA said in an emailed statement.

The collaboration aims to foster a conducive environment for knowledge-sharing, innovation, and industry advancement within the Web3 ecosystem.

“We hope to leverage our partnership to exchange insights on use cases, manage risks through regulatory frameworks, and develop policies while sharing compliance best practices,” said Bharat Web3 Association Chairperson Dilip Chenoy.

Members of BWA include infrastructure providers such as Biconomy, digital asset exchanges such as CoinDCX and CoinSwitch, virtual gaming platforms like Hike and other Web3 players like Liminal and Tax Nodes.

For its part, the Japan ANICANA Dealers Association aims to promote the use of the Web3 platform called ANICANA by various businesses within Japan.

“Our goal is to conduct research, surveys, and provide development support for businesses and products, contributing to the healthy development of the industry and the protection of users,” said JADA Chairperson Keiko Tanaka.

India has one of the largest Web3 ecosystems in the world, boasting more than 1,000 startups, according to a report by Hashed Emergent and its knowledge partners KPMG in India, Devfolio, CoinSwitch, and Kratos Gaming Network.

The Indian government and more than 50% of provincial governments are planning or running initiatives that leverage blockchain, the report said.

India’s share in the global pool of blockchain developers increased from 3% in 2018 to 12% in 2023 and has the highest share among emerging markets. The sector received $250 million in investment in 2023, a decrease from 2022, but deals remained steady, indicating sustained interest in early-stage Web3 startups, the report added.

“The increasing adoption of web3 and blockchain across various sectors and industry is a big global opportunity for Indian tech talent and businesses. Blockchains have enabled various innovative use cases such as DeFi (decentralized finance), real world assets
tokenisation, self-sovereign identities, track & trace, etc. which were not possible earlier,” Krishna Tyagi, head of web3 at KPMG in India, said in the report.

Guidelines

Separately, the BWA has also introduced guidelines for listing tokens on member virtual digital asset (VDA) platforms. These guidelines address VDAs, referring to assets tokenized on existing blockchains or units of value generated on blockchain or other distributed ledger technology (DLT) networks.

The objective of these guidelines is to enhance market confidence by attracting reputable projects and investors seeking VDA platforms that adhere to transparent and consistent evaluation criteria, BWA said in an emailed statement.

While these guidelines are recommendatory in nature, VDA platforms are expected to follow operational frameworks and protocols during the token listing process. This includes aspects such as announcement dates, comprehensive project disclosures, safeguards against market abuses, technical evaluations, and thorough staging and testing before public offerings, the BWA added.

The guidelines come a month after Uday Kotak, the founder of India’s third-largest private bank, Kotak Mahindra, labeled digital currency as an “alternate market currency” and a necessary counter hedge for governments worldwide who misbehave and are irresponsible on the fiscal or monetary side over long periods of time.

Watch: India ready to become leaders in Web3