Credit Saison, the third largest credit card company in Japan, said on Monday that it is establishing a new Venture Fund to support blockchain companies at an early stage that work in the Real-World Activa sector, according to local media reports.
The vehicle, known as Onigiri Capital, has so far collected $ 35 million from Credit Saison and other backers and, according to a company spokesperson, has room to expand to $ 50 million.
Saison Capital, the group of investment, supports crypto companies since 2023.
Connect Asian markets
Onigiri Capital will concentrate on companies that build financial infrastructure, such as stablecoins, tokenization platforms, payment rails and decentralized financial products. The strategy of the fund emphasizes the connecting of startups in the US with the growing digital assets markets of Asia.
Qin en Looi, managing partner van Onigiri en een partner bij Saison Capital, zei dat het initiatief is ontworpen om oprichters uit de VS te helpen zich in Azië te vestigen door gebruik te maken van Credit Saison’s bankrelaties, wettelijke kennis- en distributienetwerken in Japan, Korea, Indonesië, Maleisië, Singapore en de Philippijnen.
Colleague Managing Partner Hans de Back added that the fund strives to help projects to meet global financial standards, while using the established infrastructure of Asia.
Credit Saison, located in Tokyo and affiliated with Mizuho Financial Group, is also active in banking, real estate and entertainment in addition to its credit card activities.
Stricter climate for crypto -venture -Deals
The launch comes at a time when the financing in the digital assets sector is modest. After a peak of $ 86 billion over 329 funds in 2022, crypto venture capital has been dramatically cooled.
Data from the industry shows that this year only $ 3.7 billion was collected over 28 funds. The deployment is also delayed. Funds invested $ 8.13 billion between January and August 2024, but only $ 8.05 billion in the same period in 2025.
Higher interest rates, the collapse of high -profile companies such as FTX and Terra’s Luna/UST, and the rise of digital asset handling companies that compete for capital as a factors that weigh on the market.
However, recent allocations have shown a tilt in the direction of startups aimed at financial services and decentralized finances, which suggests that despite broader caution investors are interested in blockchain products with clear institutional applications.
