This week, I had the opportunity to speak with Ace, the Japan lead for Phaver, a rapidly growing Web3 social platform. During our conversation, Ace shared insights into his journey into crypto, Phaver’s strategic focus on the Japanese market, the unique characteristics of Japanese crypto communities, and the challenges and opportunities facing blockchain projects in Japan.
Phaver’s Ace on Navigating the Challenges and Opportunities of Japan’s Crypto Market
I found Ace to be affable and earnest, two qualities that must be great advantages in his task of growing Phaver’s Japanese user base. In speaking about Phaver, Ace was filled with the passion I regularly see amongst those in this industry. I particularly enjoyed the info he shared about Web3 projects in the Japanese market, which is often considered an insular, yet desirable market. I also got a glimpse into what could one day replace Twitter as the heart of crypto. I, for one, am looking forward to it!
Introduction
David: Thank you for joining me. Could you please introduce yourself?
Ace: Thank you for having me today. I’m Ace from Phaver, I’m currently the Japan lead. I’ve been in the blockchain industry since 2019, and I’ve been helping organize some of the Web3 summits in Japan. I’m also part of some of the communities. I joined Phaver last August. Since then, I’ve been helping Phaver to grow its user base in Japan.
David: You said you got started in 2019, how did you get into crypto?
Ace: Oh, actually, my first dive into this industry was working as a translator. So I actually had a chance to translate one of the defi projects back then. And then that was actually my first steps into the blockchain industry in 2019. That was at the end of 2019.
Role at Phaver
David: Could you tell me in a little more detail what you do at Phaver?
Ace: Yes. So right now, as Phaver’s Japan lead, I’m working to grow its user base in Japan. But also partnering up with some of the communities, including Kudasaijp, Onboarding Bridge, Otaku Labs, many other communities as well, and also working closely with these NFT projects from Japan. That’s what I’m mainly working on right now.
Phaver’s Interest in the Japanese Market
David: Why is Phaver interested in developing or cultivating the Japanese market?
Ace: Currently, Japan is among our top five user markets. We already have a decent number of users in Japan, with around 20,000 active users in total. We aim to grow this number by ten times. One reason for this focus is the diversity of communities from different countries, each with its unique characteristics. Japanese communities, in particular, are very strong and cohesive, with members supporting each other and staying engaged.
We’ve been receiving support from Japanese users for over two years now, which is another reason why we’re focusing on the Japanese market.
Phaver’s Japan Goals
David: What are Phaver’s goals for the next few years in Japan?
Ace: At Phaver, we’re definitely going to continue growing as one of the biggest social platforms right now. We continue to become the number one gateway to Web3 social. Right now, we have Lens Protocol and Farcaster as protocols we’ve connected with. It allows users to cross-post to Lens and Farcaster from Phaver. It’s very convenient. We’re going to have more supporting features for Farcaster, like Frames on Phaver. In the future, there might be more social platforms coming out, we plan to continue working with other socials.
Our ultimate goal is to become a super app. We’re currently a social app where people can connect their NFTs, but we also want to make this app where projects can set up their campaigns. We have different types of users with various interests, so we can target marketing within Phaver. Overall, we plan to become a very large super app in this industry.
Japanese Community Vibe
David: How would you describe the Japanese vibe?
Ace: For the Japanese crypto communities, there are different levels of knowledge. Some people know about Bitcoin but don’t know about Ethereum. Their knowledge of blockchain is very low, but they are still part of the community. There are also users who know about defi and dex, but this group is very small. For the majority of Japanese users, they are still in the learning phase and are getting familiar with blockchain technology.
Onboarding Japanese Content Creators
David: An important step is onboarding people to use the social app. Last month, you onboarded your first Japanese content creator. How did that go?
Ace: Yes, we have a program called Creator Program. We onboard many different creators from different countries. About a month ago, we onboarded our first Japanese content creator, an artist from Tokyo. She sings and stuff. She knew what Bitcoin and Ethereum were, but not much more. As she got into Phaver, she started exploring more. Her content blew up, and she grew 4.5K followers within a month. She got over 3000 likes. We have a feature called ‘phave.’ When you find good content and phave it, it becomes one phave. If people keep phaving, it grows, and the person who phaved first gets more points than the one who phaved at 99. It rewards being early and active. We plan to have post notifications in the future to support this.
David: That’s interesting. Another big thing you mentioned was Phaver points. How do users earn these points?
Ace: Users can earn Phaver points by connecting their NFTs. We have many NFT collections added to this credit and points system. Cred is for whitelisted NFT projects. We support Ethereum and Polygon chains. We have collections like Bored Apes, Azuki, and recently, we’ve been working with Pudgy Penguins. Our relationships with other NFT projects are also our strength.
David: So, about the content creator you onboarded, how did that happen?
Ace: She was introduced by a mutual friend. I didn’t know much about her initially, but I saw potential in onboarding artists, models, and influencers to bring Web2 users to Phaver. She knew Bitcoin and Ethereum but not much else. We pitched her the upcoming Phair Drop campaign and the opportunity to grow her fanbase. Another content creator, Pure, who started early on Phaver, grew significantly. Pure had over 40,000 followers and 4 million points. She was an Instagram influencer, posting anime and otaku content, which resonated with users. This showed the potential for new opportunities on Phaver.
David: Did the content creator have any reservations?
Ace: Since she was introduced by me, I supported her in joining Phaver, setting up Lens and Farcaster IDs, and connecting with Phaver. The onboarding process took less than ten minutes. We plan to create tutorials to help non-native Web3 users. She quickly saw growth in her numbers and felt supported by other creators. The community supports each other’s content.
Challenges in the Japanese Market
David: Have you seen any difficulties or challenges for crypto projects entering the Japanese market?
Ace: The biggest blocker is the image Japanese people have towards this industry. There’s also a language barrier. Information often arrives late in Japan, causing users to be a step behind. They end up buying at the top and selling at the bottom. The language and image are significant blockers, but as more giant corporations join Web3, like gaming companies, people will start trusting the industry more. Regulations have become clearer, making it better for investments. We’re still growing and at the beginning stages, but we’re in a good phase of development.
Another very big blocker for the Japanese crypto community to grow is actually, back in those ICO phases. You know, there were many frauds and scams that happened, not only in Japan but also in the industry as a whole. But there were just too many in Japan. So, there’s still this image of blockchain equaling scams. Many people feel scared entering this industry. I think that’s definitely one of the big blockers that we still have nowadays.
But as we have giant corporations joining Web3, people are starting to feel more comfortable with this industry. We definitely expect to see the number of users grow in the next three years or so. Next year, 2025, there’s a huge exhibition in Osaka called Expo 2025. We’re expecting over 26 million attendees. It’s like a World Expo. It’s government-related with mega banks coming in, and Phaver will be there.
Have you used Phaver or another Web3 social app? Do you plan to? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.