Japanese watch giant Casio forays into NFT space: details

Japan-based watch brand Casio has decided to engage with a younger generation of customers. Casio launched the NFT series with eight pieces of digital art that were created in partnership with Astar zkEVM. Tapping into Japanese gaming culture, Casio’s NFTs will be available in Astar’s Yogi Origin game. In recent years, Japan has come forward to show its support for the Web3 sector, especially under the leadership of tech-friendly Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

A Level 2 blockchain for Ethereum, Astar zkEVM uses zero-knowledge proofs to increase scalability and reduce transaction costs. Announcing its partnership with Casio at X, Astar zkEVM informed community members that these NFTs will be available in the “YoPort” section of the Yoki Origins game. Essentially, Casio has not released its NFT series on traditional NFT markets such as OpenSea and Magic Eden.

“In honor of 50 years of Casio Watch heritage, we are excited to announce the release of exclusive commemorative NFTs inspired by iconic Casio watches. Coinage Method: Unlock the thrill with Gacha & Reveal mechanics,” the blockchain platform said in a statement.

These NFTs come with some benefits for the holders. Ten NFT holders will get a chance at limited edition original G-Shock watches. In addition, owners of these NFTs can also receive ASTR tokens equivalent to 10,000 JPY. At the time of writing, one ASTR token was trading at JPY 16.40, according to Kraken Crypto Exchange.

“Please note that the number of winners and content are subject to change. Stay tuned for the announcement of the winners,” Astar Network added.

This isn’t the first time Casio has forayed into the Web3 arena. Back in 2023, the watch brand partnered with Polygon to release a collection of 15,000 free G-Shock Creator Pass NFTs. Around this time, Casio also released their G-Shock NFT into the metaverse.