The New Global Standard from Japan
Japan Smart Chain (JSC) is an Ethereum Equivalent Layer 1 (L1) blockchain, validated onshore in Japan by Japanese industrial leaders, and optimized for Japanese regulations and consumer protections.
Mission
JSC is committed to streamlining the Japanese blockchain ecosystem and overall customer experience by focusing on consumer pain points in the application layer that can be better addressed at the Layer 1 blockchain.
Our primary target areas are processes that are expensive, cause customer inconvenience, or are repetitive across applications.
Our Guiding Principles
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Sovereignty
Within the control of Japan
Beyond the influence of outside regulatory forces
Validated onshore in Japan
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Security
Software upgrades in lockstep with Ethereum
Leveraging Japan's top engineering talent
Technical experience with enterprise grade blockchain and financial systems
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Safety
Customers of regulated on-chain services can safely interact with others.
AML and anti-social compliance policies embedded at the infrastructure layer
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Scalability
Layer 2 offered as a service from Mainnet launch
Essential transactions prioritised on JSC (e.g., stablecoins)
Advancements made to either JSC or Ethereum are mutually beneficial, reducing engineering redundancy
Introducing the Mizuhiki Protocol
The Mizuhiki Protocol is a user-controlled identification method matched with a suite of KYC tools and services, offered for free to projects and end-users of Japan Smart Chain.
Project Leadership
Joi Ito is the co-founder of Digital Garage and current President of Chiba Institute of Technology. Ito is an expert in open-source internet projects, previously serving on the board at Mozilla Foundation, Creative Commons, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), among others.
Russell Cummer is the founder and former Chairman of Paidy, Japan's leading BNPL service. Previously, Russell worked on credit and derivatives trading at Goldman Sachs in Tokyo. Russell holds a Masters in Financial Mathematics from Stanford University.
Gen Kanai is a blockchain industry investor and open-source internet executive. Kanai currently serves as a Director at Animoca Brands, and previously led the Mozilla Foundation's expansion to Asia. Gen holds a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College.
Jeff Wentworth is the co-founder of Curvegrid, a Japan-based enterprise blockchain company. Previously, Jeff was Vice President and global product owner of block and object storage at Goldman Sachs. He holds a degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo.
Nikita Kent is a Computer Science major and specialises in Market Design (Game Theory) in the technology sector. Previously, Kent was an analyst at Elevation Capital Management and at the United Nations secretariat. Kent holds a Masters in Economics from the University of Tokyo.
Shota Matsuzawa is a co-founder of Decima Fund, a crypto-focused venture capital firm. Previously, Matsuzawa served as Deputy Director of the FSA in Japan, with a focus on fintech. Matsuzawa holds a Bachelor of Arts from Waseda University.
Marcus Okuno is a Japan Equity Market specialist and outside director at Tsuraha Holdings (TYO:3319). Previously Okuno was Managing Director of Jefferies & Company at the Tokyo headquarters and a Japan equities specialist at Merrill Lynch.
Masaya Kubota is a venture capitalist and a co-founder of Project Coalis. Kubota was a Partner at WiL, investing in notable Japanese startups, after 16 years in tech-focused investment banking at Lehman and Barclays. Kubota holds a Bachelor of Economics from Keio University.
Japan Smart Chain Foundation
JSC is managed by Japan Smart Chain Foundation, an ippan shadan houjin. The Foundation will focus on the governance of Japan Smart Chain, including:
Management of the chain
Management of the validator node network & validator partners
Open source development & JSC developer community engagement
