Bloomberg News reported on the 9th (local time) that Z Holdings, a joint subsidiary of Naver and Softbank Group in Japan, plans to expand related investments by opening a NFT (Non-fungible Token) market.
Z Holdings said it plans to open NFT markets in 180 countries around the world this spring and is making large-scale investments to increase the number of PaPay subscribers, a fintech affiliate, to 90 million.
Z Holdings is a company launched through management integration between Naver-affiliated messenger LINE and Yahoo Japan based in Japan and aims to compete with global technology companies.
Gentaro Kawabe, co-CEO of Z Holdings, said Web 3.0 is likely to lead the world to provide a completely different life, adding that he will not miss this huge growth opportunity.
He also stressed that he will not hesitate to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to expand his business.
Earlier, Rakuten Group launched its first NFT market in Japan last month, and blockchain game company “Animoka Brands” is also scheduled to enter the Japanese NFT market in April.
He then said he will actively expand the number of subscribers to Pay Pay, a QR code-based smartphone financial service.
CEO Kawabe said Paypay expects to turn into a surplus in the next few years, but added that IPO is very flexible.
PayPay’s current number of subscribers is about 45 million, and Softbank owns a 50% stake.
