Japan’s NTT Docomo partners Accenture, to invest $4 billion in web3, use DAOs – Ledger Insights

Today Japan’s largest mobile telecom operator NTT DOCOMO announced a major web3 initiative partnering with Accenture. It has also committed to invest 500 to 600 billion yen ($3.4 to 4.1 billion) in the web3 sector and will incorporate a subsidiary next year. It intends to use the Astar Network, a multi-chain smart contract platform that is one of the Polkadot blockchain’s parachains.

The financial investment will come over a period of five to six years.

It plans to engage a variety of industries using Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), an alternative to a corporate entity that aims to democratize the governance of blockchain protocols. Given that DAOs are evolving, there is a risk of repeating the mistakes of enterprise blockchain consortia.

However, the NTT group has extensive experience in that department, which should help avoid the pitfalls for consortia.

Positioning itself as a web enabler, DOCOMO identified four aspects where it plans to be active, starting with security, a blockchain wallet and crypto asset exchange and moving on to token issuance and other web3 activities.

The partnership announcement with Accenture did not mention the Astar Network and focused on using blockchain and web3 to solve social problems: ESG, blockchain security and developing web3 talent.

At the top of the list is promoting environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, including addressing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. We observe that blockchain has been widely used for ESG, not least to tokenize carbon credits, a somewhat controversial topic.

Public blockchain fraud and smart contract flaws have caused some to view public blockchain as risky. DOCOMO aims to solve this to enable users to adopt new technology in a safe way.

“Web3 is the most impactful technological development since the Internet,” said Motoyuki Ii, President and CEO, NTT DOCOMO. “DOCOMO, in partnership with Accenture, will revolutionize social infrastructure using blockchain and build a safe and secure Web3 environment. We will build an environment where the power of creators and developers can come together. We are pleased to promote the Japan-developed Web3, and we welcome individuals and businesses to join us in the global development of Web3 services.”

To date, DOCOMO has not been a major blockchain player, and has mainly participated in telecommunications blockchain consortia such as the Carrier Blockchain Study Group.

However, NTT Data has been very active. That includes as a consultant in some large successful projects, such as Italy’s Spunta for interbank reconciliations. It is also the driver behind TradeWaltz, a large Japanese supply chain blockchain platform with some similarities to TradeLens and GSBN.