Japan will launch a Web3 investment fund focused on bringing Japanese anime and manga intellectual property (IP) onto blockchain platforms.
This news was revealed at the WebX 2025 conference in Tokyo, Japan.
Animoca Brands, a global leader in blockchain and gaming, has partnered with Antler’s innovation arm, Ibex Japan for the project.
A Fund for Japanese Anime and Manga
The fund aims to unlock the untapped potential of Japan’s vast anime and manga IP, much of which remains underutilized.
Sandeep Casi, a partner at Ibex Japan, highlighted that “90% to 99% of Japan’s IP is lying dormant on the shelves and has great value.”
The initiative aims to leverage Antler’s global network to scale Japanese IP for international markets.
Antler network spans 22 cities, manages $1.2 billion in assets, and connects 250,000 entrepreneurs.
Yat Siu, co-founder and chairman of Animoca Brands outlined the vision for the fund at WebX 2025.
The partnership will focus on licensing dormant Japanese IP to create innovative Web3 products and services.
This will extend beyond gaming into sectors like fintech, healthcare, and medtech.
“This partnership is about expanding Japanese IP globally,” Siu emphasized.
He pointed to favorable market conditions, with the NFT market capitalization reaching $9.3 billion on August 13, a 40% increase from July’s $6.6 billion.
Casi and Peymani will serve as co-general partners of the fund, with plans to announce initial investment targets in the coming months.
The initiative comes at a time of renewed interest in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and digital assets, positioning Japanese anime and manga IP to play a pivotal role in the evolving Web3 ecosystem.
In a related development, U.S. based crypto exchange Kraken has been engaging with the U.S. SEC’s Crypto Task Force to discuss its tokenized trading system.
Kraken’s tokenized stock service allows non U.S. investors to trade U.S. equities 24/7, with recent expansions to the Tron blockchain.
In this context, Animoca-Ibex Japan partnership marks a significant step in bridging Japan’s rich cultural assets with cutting-edge blockchain technology.
