eXponential Finance

 While the main stage at WebX Tokyo buzzes with talk of billion-dollar ETFs and institutional adoption, there’s another, shadow economy at play—one that operates on the very same rails we’re trying to build.

Hacks. Scams. Sanctions. It’s a multi-billion dollar problem. Just last year, over forty-one billion dollars in on-chain value was transferred to illicit addresses.

So how do we build a transparent, trustworthy financial ...

​Michinori Kanokogi, CFA, is Head of Solution Research at Nissay Asset Management. He leads the research and development of digital investment solutions for investors.

​Previously, he led the launch of AQR Capital Management’s Japan business as head of investment management. He also has experience in multi-manager investment at Russell Investments, equity portfolio management at UBS, and management consulting at PwC and Deloitte.

​He...

Drew Robbins is the author of the book “When No One's Keeping Score: The Meaningful Moves That Build a Fulfilling Career”, a practical, story-rich guide to finding meaning, building resilience, and making real progress at work—without burning out or waiting for permission.

Drew is a seasoned leader and mentor with over 20 years of experience guiding professionals through the real-world challenges of building meaningful careers....

Akio Tanaka is a Co-Founder and Partner at Headline Asia. Akio has driven impactful investments in FinTech, E-commerce, and Blockchain, leading to Japan’s No.1 & No.2 FinTech unicorns, freee, and WealthNavi. His expertise spans cross-border digital payment platforms, democratizing private equity access, and nurturing Web3. 

We have recorded this podcast episode to celebrate Headline Asia's USD 145 million Fund V, supporting ...

In this episode of the eXponential Finance Podcast, we explore avenues to create legal entities for Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), with a particular focus on the structure set up in the Marshall Islands.

Adam Miller is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of MIDAO. Adam is a passionate member of several DAOs such as Purple, Builder DAO, CryptoMondays, and Beaver DAO to name a few. Previously, Adam conducted res...

For this podcast episode, we have picked one of the insightful sessions from the recent TEAMZ Summit in Tokyo, a place where Web3 developers, investors, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts can gather, explore the latest trends, connect with global leaders, and discover business opportunities. This panel of industry leaders discussed “The Future of Bitcoin: Its Role as Digital Gold and Integration into the Financial System.”

Speakers:

...

In this episode of the eXponential Finance Podcast, we explore the challenges foreign residents face when opening bank accounts in Japan.

Declan Somers, Chief Executive Officer of Mobal Communications, the owner of MobalPay, shares his unique journey to & from Japan to Ireland, working in telecoms, and their impactful work in Malawi.

The discussion dives into the features and impact of their mobile pay product, how it aids th...

This panel at the WebX conference held on August 28 & 29 in.Tokyo focuses on the intersection of Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and digital assets, exploring the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency investment products.

The speakers, representing a diverse range of financial and blockchain companies, discuss the implications of crypto ETFs, the regulatory environment surrounding these products, and the broader impact on both tra...

Join us as we dive deep with Chino-san from Binance, exploring the transformation of Japan's financial market through digitalization and cutting-edge technologies.

From his career journey at traditional exchanges to pivotal roles at Kraken and Binance, discover why Binance stands out in revolutionizing the Japanese crypto industry.

Understand the challenges and opportunities within Japan's financial and crypto sectors, in...

Habitto is Japan's first connected money experience, helping people save, grow and protect their money.

​Habitto has become the first company to register as a deposit-taking and electronic financial services intermediary in Japan, using a license type that the FSA made available towards the end of 2021.

Samantha Ghiotti, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, brings over 20 years of unique vantage points and global experienc...

Jitendra Singh Jaitawat is a Partner & the Founding CTO at Helicap, as well as Co-Founder and CEO at Helix.

Helicap is a Singapore-based FinTech firm providing curated and exclusive private co-investments to a wide network of accredited investors. Through their institutional-grade credit analytics technology, Helicap extracts meaningful credit insights for their risk management framework. This is complemented by Helicap's f...

Stephen Nagy's latest edited volume (jointly with Indu Saxena) focuses on the changing regional security dynamics of Southeast Asia within the context of the U.S.-China strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific.

On the one hand, China’s growing influence and assertive behavior in the South China Sea and the Archipelago region are the main concerns of these countries.

On the other hand, Southeast Asian countries are skep...

Kay is the Founder of MVL (Mass Vehicle Ledger), TADA (ride hailing) and ONiON (electric tricycles).

Earlier in his founder journey, Mothership, a Singaporean online magazine, portrayed Kay as the “Korean guy who made a ride hailing app for the Singapore market after meeting driver who called himself a ‘dog’”.

But then, the sequencing evolved quite naturally. The blockchain needed a use case to prove its utility, so the zero-commi...

The eXponential Finance Podcast welcomes Bruno Diniz back to explore the evolution of financial technology in Brazil, highlighting the success of PIX in transforming the financial landscape and the upcoming launch of a Central Bank Digital Currency named DREX. We also discuss open finance, tokenizing the economy, and the global impact of Brazil's fintech innovations.

Bruno Diniz is the Managing Partner at Spiralem Innovation C...

Jed is the Founder of AngelSchool.vc. As a Tech Operator, he built the world’s largest API Marketplace with an a16z-backed startup.

Jed began investing in startups in 2016. Like most angels, he staked his own capital. Despite having never worked in VC, he got his first exit in 2018. Jed has also backed 2 seed-stage startups that became Unicorns ($1BN+ valuation).

People started asking “what are you investing in next?”, so he began ...

Rakkar Digital is a Singapore-based company that provides digital asset custodian services to institutional clients in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. The company is backed by SCB 10X, the investment arm of Siam Commercial Bank, and powered by Fireblocks. Leveraging cutting-edge multi-party computation (MPC)-CMP custody infrastructure as their underlying technology, Rakkar Digital provides the highest level of security for assets alo...

CrediLinq is a technology infrastructure company that is enabling B2B platforms to offer embedded finance to their customers.

B2B PayLater for buyers and GMV Financing for sellers is a huge opportunity to both improve conversion, increase average order volumes and dramatically reduce operational burden. The future of B2B payments and purchasing will very much look like the current consumer level experience – we at CrediLinq.Ai are ...

Oliver Hall is the Head of Tech Investments for Europe and Japan at Copenhagen Capacity, and a Co-Founder & Investment Director for Japanese Investments at the Nordic Asian Venture Alliance.

Our discussion covers topics such as sustainability, digitalization, foreign direct investment, Japanese capital, and the new Nordics.

Oliver shares his background and how he ended up in the Nordics. We also talk about the advantages...