Japan's third largest credit card company, Credit Saison, has launched a venture capital fund to back early-stage blockchain startups working with real-world assets. The new vehicle, reported by local media as already funded with $35 million and with the potential to expand to $50 million, is called Onigiri Capital.
The initiative is an extension of Credit Saison's cryptocurrency investments through its investment company, Saison Capital, which began supporting projects related to digital assets in 2023.
Focus on financial infrastructure and RWA assets
Onigiri Capital will focus on startups engaged in the development of financial infrastructure products, including stablecoins, tokenization platforms, payment systems and decentralised finance products (DeFi).
As part of its strategy, the fund will work to bridge the gap between US-based blockchain startups and Asia's fast-growing digital asset markets.
Our goal is to support US-based founders in establishing themselves in Asia by leveraging Credit Saison's banking and regulatory relationships, as well as distribution networks in Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.
Qin En Looi, managing partner of Onigiri Capital and partner of Saison Capital, said in a statement.
Hans de Back, managing partner of Onigiri, added that the fund will prioritise helping blockchain startups achieve alignment with the evolving global financial ecosystem, while capitalising on the already established financial infrastructure in Asia.
A diversified financial services group
Tokyo-based Credit Saison is part of the Mizuho Financial Group. In addition to its core credit card business, the diversified financial services group operates in the banking, real estate and entertainment sectors, thus strengthening its presence in the Asian financial ecosystem.
A difficult context for crypto venture capital
The fund launch comes at a difficult time for the venture capital industry in the cryptocurrency sector. In 2022, the industry reached an all-time high with $86 billion raised through 329 funds. Since then, however, funding has dropped sharply.
In 2025, the industry has so far only raised $3.7 billion through 28 funds, according to industry data. The distribution of capital has also cooled: between January and August 2024, venture capital funds invested $8.13 billion, compared to $8.05 billion over the same period in 2025.
Industry analysts attribute the drop to higher interest rates, the collapse of prominent companies such as FTX and Terra's LUNA/UST, and the emergence of digital asset treasury companies competing to attract capital.
In spite of this, allocations have increasingly shifted towards startups focused on financial services and DeFi solutions, indicating that, despite a general downturn, investors continue to show interest in blockchain projects with concrete institutional applications.
