Report: Softbank’s Internet Firm Z Holdings Plans to Launch NFT Mall in 180 Countries

Z Holdings, the internet subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate holding company Softbank, is planning to launch a global non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace this spring. Z Holdings’ “NFT Mall” aims to target 180 countries and leverage the firm’s Paypay service in order to attract Web3, metaverse, and NFT patrons.

Softbank’s internet firm Z Holdings plans to launch an NFT marketplace called “NFT Mall,” according to a Bloomberg interview with the company’s co-CEO Kentaro Kawabe. The firm’s parent company merged Line and Yahoo Japan into Z Holdings last year. Kawabe’s statements from the interview indicate that Z Holdings plans to leverage Web3, metaverse, and NFT in order to bolster the company’s growth.

“It’s possible Web3 will herald a world where life is completely different and we don’t want the company to miss out on the huge growth opportunity,” Kawabe, the co-chief executive officer of Z Holdings stated during the interview. “We won’t hesitate to do merger and acquisition deals to boost our presence,” the co-CEO added.

Z Holdings’ entry into the NFT space follows the Japanese online retail giant Rakuten launching its NFT marketplace. After the launch at the end of February, Rakuten detailed that the peer-to-peer service for minting and selling NFTs is planned to be released next year. There’s also a slew of NFT marketplace competition from Opensea, Rarible, Looksrare, Magic Eden, Coinbase, FTX, and Crypto.com.

Reports note that Z Holdings has a five-year growth initiatives budget of 500 billion yen or $5.9 billion. Furthermore, Kawabe’s interview resembles the statements Softbank president and CEO Junichi Miyakawa made during his 2022 New Year’s message. In the New Year’s message, Miyakawa talked about the metaverse and insisted the concept will become a “wellspring that generates new services and business models.”

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