Meet Ikehaya, the Leader in the Japanese NFT Market

There isn’t a day you don’t hear of the name “Ikehaya” in the Japanese NFT space. If you’ve been checking Japanese projects, you’ve probably been advised to follow him on Twitter. However, you may not know who he really is.

Who is Ikehaya?

In addition, he has recently released his own free-mint collection “Ikehaya Pass (IKHY)” which ranked No.1 on OpenSea, and is involved in another free-mint collection “Kiyoshi’s Pass” which will be released on 4 February.

🥷 pic.twitter.com/kK6IvVGrUK

— 🍺 ikehaya (@IHayato) January 29, 2023

His titles are impressive, but you are probably thinking, “So Ikehaya is just another NFT influencer who has become famous in the last year or two, right?”

Actually, Ikehaya goes way back – he has built his reputation gradually over the last 14 years.

Ikehaya’s Background

Ikehaya first came to prominence as a blogger and has built his reputation from there. He is known for his ability to spot new trends and develop his business into a leader in its field.

He is one of the rare influencers who managed to evolve over time and kept expanding his follower base. He has published over ten books and is often mentioned by Japanese media.

He had been a cryptocurrency enthusiast since early 2017 and has a wealth of knowledge across DeFi, blockchain games, and NFTs. He spotted a trend in NFTs in 2021 and decided to create the NFT collection, CryptoNinja, and the NinjaDAO community. He was the first Japanese influencer to fully commit to the NFT industry.

His exceptional web marketing skills have contributed to the success of Japan’s top NFT projects, CNP and LLAC.

Now that you know his business background, let me talk a little about his personal side.

Ikehaya’s real name is “Hayato Ikeda”, and he used to appear on TV from time to time, as well as show his face on his YouTube channel – he is one of the few NFT influencers who is fully doxxed.

He is currently living in the Southwest, Shikoku area, in Japan. “I got sick of the busy life in Tokyo and decided to move up deep into the mountain area with my family,” Ikehaya said in a recent interview. “From the middle of nowhere in Japan, I log on to my PC and deal with the latest NFT technology and the most entrepreneurial people!”

1/
Today is Sunday.

Let’s talk a little about my personal story.

I live in a very rural part of Japan.

This is the view from my office!

In spring, summer, autumn and winter, if you go outside, you will find picturesque scenery there. pic.twitter.com/eKnHIgRa1i

— 🍺 ikehaya (@IHayato) February 5, 2023

Ikehaya spends most of his time chatting with members of the NinjaDAO and ICL communities.  “I feel strongly that the community founder needs to be available to deal with requests and questions,” Ikehaya said. “I’m always in NinjaDAO and ICL discussing NFT-related stuff and having fun with the members. In fact, I’m just a Web3 geek who enjoys being on Discord!”

I also know that he spends at least a few hours a day playing Nintendo Super Smash Bros. NinjaDAO has Super Smash Bros tournaments from time to time, but nobody can ever beat Ikehaya!

Trolls sometimes post negative comments about Ikehaya on the internet because of his fame and success, Nevertheless, Ikehaya has much charisma to attract people from different backgrounds and age groups and is well-respected by his community members.

Ikehaya’s Ambition

Ikehaya’s long-term goal is to develop his NFT collection, CryptoNinja, into a new Web3- style IP using a super permissive licensing structure.

“Japan is the birthplace of many successful IPs, such as Pokémon and Hello Kitty. I’m confident that we can make CryptoNinja characters a global hit by leveraging a community-driven business development and marketing strategy using NFT technology,” said Ikehaya.

However, Ikehaya’s current focus is on growing the Japanese NFT industry by attracting new buyers to the market. He believes that the Japanese market is still in its infancy and has much potential to grow from here.

“My job now is to expand the Japanese market as a whole. And in doing so, the global presence of Japanese projects will naturally increase, especially as we have many talented creators producing high-quality content on a regular basis,” said Ikehaya. “In 2023, we plan to bring many exciting and innovative NFT projects to the world.”

Ikehaya’s Web3 challenge has just begun. Let’s see where he takes the Japanese NFT industry next.

I’ll keep you posted!

---

The content is for informational purposes only. Investment/financial opinions expressed by Web3 Zen.com are not recommendations. As always, please do your own research prior to making any investment decisions.