Japan’s Finance Minister delivered a keynote address at a Web3 conference. The Bank of Italy sat on a panel discussing tokenized real-world assets. BlackRock Japan, SMBC, and Flow Traders shared a stage to debate the convergence of traditional finance and digital assets. These were not isolated moments – they defined the character of TEAMZ Summit 2026.
Held on April 7-8, 2026, at Happo-en, a 400-year-old garden venue in central Tokyo, the two-day summit drew more than 10,000 attendees from 50 countries, hosted over 130 speakers, and featured 100 or more sponsors, exhibitors, and side events as part of Tokyo Web3/AI Week, cementing TEAMZ Summit 2026 as one of the most significant gatherings in the global Web3 calendar.
Scale and Execution
The numbers reflect an event that has grown well beyond the scope of a regional conference:
– 10,000+ attendees across two days
– 130+ speakers representing government, finance, technology, and academia
– 100+ VC and investor groups in attendance
– 50+ countries represented
– 100+ sponsors and exhibitors
– 100+ side events as part of Tokyo Web3/AI Week (April 4-10, 2026)
Partners included Binance, XRP, Cardano, SBI VC Trade, Startale, EMURGO, AAC Holdings, Envo, Bitcoin.com, and TRON, among others. The expo zone at Happo-en spanned multiple levels and featured exhibitors from across the Web3 and AI sectors. Simultaneous interpretation in English and Japanese ensured accessibility for both domestic and international participants.
The venue carried symbolic weight. Happo-en’s traditional gardens, historic architecture, and seasonal cherry blossoms provided a setting that aligned directly with the summit’s theme: Tradition Meets Tomorrow.
A Truly Global Speaker Lineup
TEAMZ Summit 2026 assembled a speaker roster that reflected the full breadth of the global Web3 industry.
Charles Hoskinson, CEO of Input Output and co-founder of Cardano and Ethereum, delivered a keynote on the role of Layer 1 infrastructure in 2026. Justin Sun, founder of TRON and advisor to HTX, addressed the bridge between crypto asset finance and traditional finance in Japan. Yat Siu, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Animoca Brands, examined the new economic sphere created by digital ownership. Takafumi Horie – Japan’s most prominent tech entrepreneur – joined a fireside session on revitalizing Japan’s Web3 ecosystem alongside investors and founders.
Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation, opened Day 2 with a keynote on digital trust as the defining currency of the next economy. Across both days, the Ethereum Foundation, Aptos Labs, Litecoin Foundation, and Midnight each contributed to a dedicated Layer 1 infrastructure panel, while Circle, Animoca Brands, and Wave Digital Assets represented the leading global protocols and investment firms active in the space.
Representatives from over 50 countries attended, with speakers drawn from the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia, and across the Asia-Pacific region – reflecting TEAMZ Summit’s position as a genuinely international platform rather than a domestically focused event.
Government Engagement at an Unprecedented Level
One of the most discussed aspects of TEAMZ Summit 2026 was the depth of political participation – a signal that Japan’s policymakers are moving from observation to active engagement with the digital asset industry.
Japan’s Minister of Finance and Financial Services, Satsuki Katayama, delivered a keynote on the role of Web3 and AI in shaping the country’s next society. Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Digital Affairs Hideto Kawasaki also took the stage, as did Takuya Hirai, Digital Society Promotion Division Manager of the LDP, who addressed Japan’s national digital strategy.
Perhaps the most notable political appearance came from Yuichiro Tamaki, Representative of the National Democratic Party, who delivered a dedicated keynote on making Japan a digital asset nation and the role of Web3 in national economic growth. The framing of digital assets as a pillar of national policy – rather than a speculative asset class – marked a distinct shift in tone from prior years.
Institutional Finance Takes Its Place on Stage
For the first time at a gathering of this scale in Japan, representatives from major global financial institutions participated not as observers but as active speakers contributing to substantive debate.
A panel titled TradFi Meets the Future of Finance brought together executives from BlackRock Japan, SMBC, Flow Traders, and Webull Securities Japan. Separate sessions addressed CBDCs and private stablecoins – featuring a representative from Japan’s Ministry of Finance alongside the CEOs of JPYC and Progmat, and a partner from Deloitte Tohmatsu.
On the RWA tokenization panel, Dr. Andrea Perin, Deputy Chief Representative of Banca d’Italia, joined executives from EMURGO, Gold Dollar, and Midas Labs to examine the multi-trillion-dollar opportunity in bringing real-world assets on-chain. The presence of a major European central bank representative at a Web3 summit underscored how significantly institutional attitudes toward tokenization have shifted.
A Platform Positioned for 2027
TEAMZ Summit 2026 demonstrated that the convergence of global Web3 leadership, Japanese institutional depth, and active government participation creates a forum that few events anywhere in the world can replicate. For sponsors and partners, the summit offered unmatched access to decision-makers across finance, technology, and policy in a single, highly curated environment.
For organizations seeking to establish a presence in Japan’s digital asset market, engage with global institutional investors, or position themselves alongside the industry’s leading names, TEAMZ Summit has established itself as the definitive annual platform to do so.
Information on TEAMZ Summit 2027, including early sponsorship opportunities, is available at teamz.co.jp.
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