WebX 2026 Tokyo: When Japan Places Web3 at the Center of National Strategy

On 13–14 July 2026, The Prince Park Tower Tokyo once again became the epicenter of the Web3 world as WebX 2026 – one of Asia’s largest blockchain conferences – officially took place. Organized by CoinPost, Japan’s leading crypto media company, this year’s edition gathered more than 15,000 attendees from over 90 countries around the theme “Connecting the Nodes Beyond the Screen.”

Now in its fourth year, WebX has grown far beyond a conventional technology conference to become a meeting point for policymakers, global financial institutions, and the blockchain projects shaping the industry’s future. And for BlockchainWork, this marked the second time our team was on the ground in Tokyo to connect with the international Web3 community.

Japan places Web3 and startups at the “core of national growth”

What made WebX 2026 truly special was the presence of the Japanese government at its highest level. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivered a video message to the event, affirming that Web3 and startups are “the core of national growth,” and positioning blockchain and digital assets as part of Japan’s overall innovation strategy — not a speculative field standing on its own.

She emphasized the role of the “Comprehensive Startup Support Package” (developed since May 2025), noting that “public–private collaboration will be central to strengthening Japan’s innovation ecosystem.” The fact that the head of the Japanese government spoke at the country’s largest Web3 conference for the second consecutive year sends an important signal: crypto policy in Japan carries political durability – something any company weighing a long-term investment in a compliance-heavy field values highly.

Alongside the Prime Minister, the program featured a lineup of senior Japanese government officials, reflecting a cross-ministerial approach to developing the digital asset industry:

• Satsuki Katayama – Minister of Finance and Minister of State for Financial Services
• Ryosei Akazawa – Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)
• Hisashi Matsumoto – Minister in charge of Digital Transformation and Cybersecurity
• Koichi Hagiuda – Member of the House of Representatives (8 terms), Acting Executive Secretary-General
• Masaaki Taira – Head of the National Cybersecurity Strategy division, Chair of the AI and Web3 subcommittee

From experiment to implementation: the pillars of WebX 2026

If earlier editions of WebX marked Web3’s shift “from experiment to implementation” and “from retail applications to institutional integration,” 2026 deepened that trend further. The sessions focused on the themes reshaping global finance:

• Tokenization and real-world assets (RWA) on-chain — the bridge between traditional assets and blockchain.
• Stablecoins — one of the two central discussion pillars, tied to the issuance framework Japan is finalizing.
• DeFi and on-chain finance — moving toward infrastructure that is more scalable and more tightly governed.
• Cybersecurity and Japan’s crypto legal framework — the foundation for market maturity.

Notably, yen-pegged stablecoins became one of the most prominent discussion topics at WebX 2026 — a vivid illustration of how quickly Japan translates policy into practice. At WebX 2025 (August 2025), JPYC — the world’s first yen-pegged stablecoin — had only just been approved by Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA), when JPYC Inc. was registered as a funds-transfer service provider. Less than a year later, at WebX 2026, JPYC had entered real-world use (launched in late October 2025), backed by bank deposits and Japanese government bonds and redeemable 1:1 for yen. This progress shows how a clear legal framework can rapidly turn an idea into a genuinely operating product.

The event brought together many of the industry’s biggest names. According to the organizers, speakers included Tom Lee (Chairman of Bitmine), Hayden Adams (founder of Uniswap Labs), Yat Siu (Animoca Brands), Alex Svanevik (CEO of Nansen), and representatives of major financial institutions, alongside lead sponsors from Japan’s ecosystem such as SBI Holdings, bitFlyer, and bitbank.

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BlockchainWork in Tokyo: a second time connecting with the Web3 world in Tokyo

WebX 2026 marked the second time BlockchainWork’s founding team attended and connected at this event in person. All four co-founders were present in Tokyo:

• Le Ngoc My Tien – CEO & Co-founder
• Eiji Shioda – Co-founder, Board Member
• Koichiro Abe – Co-founder, Board Member
• Phan Trung Hieu – Chairman & Co-founder

For BlockchainWork, every meeting at WebX is not merely networking, but an opportunity to open real bridges between Vietnam’s blockchain talent and the global Web3 ecosystem. The team held numerous conversations with domestic and international blockchain projects, exploring hiring needs, operating models, and partnership opportunities — particularly with Japanese companies that carry deep experience operating within a well-structured legal environment.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, BlockchainWork CEO Le Ngoc My Tien shared:

“Japan is several steps ahead in building a legal framework for digital assets – from exchange licensing and stablecoin issuance rules to investor protection mechanisms. That hands-on experience of operating within such a clear legal environment is an invaluable lesson, helping Vietnamese businesses prepare both mentally and operationally as we enter a new phase of legalization for the blockchain sector. Vietnam has a young, highly capable, and deeply ambitious blockchain talent community. Placed alongside the discipline of Japanese and international companies, this is a vast space for collaboration. BlockchainWork’s mission is to be the bridge that brings Vietnamese talent to global opportunities, while accompanying international companies as they look for partners and implementation teams in Vietnam.”

>> Connect: Vietnam Blockchain Talent Community – BW

Conclusion

The clearest takeaway from WebX 2026 is not its scale or speaker list, but the way Japan combines innovation ambition with legal discipline. Japan’s story shows that a mature Web3 market simultaneously needs legal credibility, tax reform, an approval process for token-based initiatives, and solid financing for projects that reach real-world deployment.

For Vietnam – where the journey toward legalizing digital assets is still in its early stage – these lessons from the international market are a valuable reference map. Vietnamese businesses can learn from how projects have operated within international legal frameworks to prepare, in advance, a compliance mindset, governance models, and team capabilities as the domestic legal framework gradually takes clearer and more concrete shape.

BlockchainWork will continue to accompany, update, and connect the community with the latest movements in the regional Web3 market, so that Vietnam’s blockchain talent and businesses are not left out of the global game.

*Highlight moments of the event

BlockchainWork

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