Blockchain & Rice Balls: A Curious Fund 🍙

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They call it Onigiri Capital. Onigiri. As if the fate of American innovation now rests upon a precisely formed triangle of rice. Credit Saison, Japan’s third-largest issuer of those little plastic rectangles we’ve all grown to depend on, has seen fit to assemble a $50 million pool of capital. Apparently, this is to ‘support’ startups. Support. Such a gentle word for the inevitable chain of obligations and scrutiny that awaits them. They’re dabbling in blockchain, you see-that digital mirage shimmering in the desert of finance.

Saison Capital, their venture arm-a seedbed for such endeavors-has already gathered a respectable portion from investors, both those within the fold and those foolish enough to venture outside it. The ostensible purpose? To forge links between the zealous, sometimes naive, developers of the US and the…shall we say, *refined* financial sensibilities of Asia. One wonders who is truly linking to whom. 🧐

Credit Saison Goes Deeper (Into the Rabbit Hole?)

They’ve constructed this…Onigiri Capital. Focussed – naturally – on ‘real-world asset’ projects, an altogether bewildering phrase that likely involves taking something perfectly tangible and making it inexplicably more complicated. Thirty-five million already pledged, with a grand ambition of reaching fifty. One suspects a certain amount of patriotic adherence to round numbers. The partners at Saison Capital, those architects of this digital bridge, are looking at the earliest stages of ventures. Payment tools, tokenization… stablecoins – a contradiction in terms if ever there was one. And of course, DeFi. Decentralized. As if anything can truly be free from the long reach of control. 💸

The plan, and it is, one imagines, a plan of great intricacy, is to connect these American pioneers with the Asian marketplace. Because, apparently, these bright young things can’t navigate the regulatory maze and institutional structures of Japan, Singapore and, bless their hearts, the Philippines without a guiding hand. A guiding hand, attached firmly to a very large credit card company.

Onigiri Capital will, they claim, ‘differentiate’ itself. Through ‘regional expertise’ and established channels. That is to say, they know the lay of the land and have friends in high places. A valuable combination, certainly. But matchmaking is such a delicate business, and the dowry demands in the world of venture capital are notoriously steep. This is not charity, after all. 💸

The Context of Things (and Share Prices)

Credit Saison, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (8253.T), is a conglomerate sprawling across finance, real estate and, rather inexplicably, entertainment. Their shares wobbled lately around ¥3,913 ($26.6) – a sum which, for some, represents freedom, for others, merely the price of a decent lunch. The range, from ¥2,781 ($18.9) to ¥4,269 ($28.9), suggests a certain… volatility. A fitting metaphor for the ventures they are now funding. 📉

The timing, of course, is impeccable. The crypto winter is far from thawing. Interest rates loom like specters, and the lingering stench of FTX hangs heavy in the air. Yet, despite all this, faith – or perhaps desperation – persists. Investors remain, inexplicably, bullish on financial services and the glorious promise of tokenizing absolutely everything. Onigiri Capital is a gamble, a small wager against the prevailing winds. Will it flourish? Or will it crumble, another forgotten hummock in the vast, shifting sands of the blockchain? It remains to be seen.

But at least they have rice balls. One can always rely on a good rice ball. 🍙

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2025-09-16 05:57