The “Manga-nization” of Cryptocurrency Could Make Digital Money Less Digitally Appealing and More Cryptic

The increasing “manga-nization” of “cryptocurrency” may make this new form of digital money even more “cryptic” and unpredictable than “appealing” and stable. 

First crypto-themed manga

The first bitcoin-themed manga series, “Genesis Code” made its debut in Japan in 2020, with the story revolving around the mystery of Bitcoin’s creation. Set in 2019, the year Bitcoin was born, the plot centers around a hacker named “Phantom Wolf” who is in a race to solve the mystery of Bitcoin’s origin to win the top prize: 1 million worth of Bitcoins (BTC). “The protagonist will face lethal consequences if he fails to solve the mystery,” said Hakusensha, the publisher of Genesis Code, last year.

Solving the mystery of bitcoin?

The author of this new manga series is definitely right about the lingering mystery surrounding bitcoin or cryptocurrency in general, as governments worldwide are still trying to understand how it works to come up with effective rules and regulations. That said, in reality, you may face serious consequences even if you have solved the mystery of bitcoin. This is because, in the real world, you could find yourself in serious trouble if you fail to solve the mystery of “your” Bitcoins’ origin. In other words, you need to be able to prove that you know the background of the person or entity that has given you those Bitcoins, and that you have received them legally.

Mysteriously dangerous (in reality) 

Back in June this year, a Japanese Youtuber was given a stern warning by the FinancialServices Agency (FSA), Japan’s financial regulator, after he had announced in one of his videos that he had received one Bitcoin worth 4 million yen from Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit as a birthday gift after opening an account with them, according to an article published by multi-asset trading news provider Finance Magnates. In its warning, the FSA said that the Youtuber, who had around 4.4 million subscribers, was not allowed to promote a cryptocurrency exchange without permission from the government. The financial regulator’s concerns were justifiable as it had accused Bybit of running unlicensed crypto services in Japan one month earlier, according to Finance Magnates. 

With the recent news of the upcoming release of a new, crypto-themed installment in the popular Golgo 3 manga series, Japan’s longest-running comic series featuring a sniper assassin, the race to solve the mystery of cryptocurrency will rage on both in the real world and the manga world.

Keywords
Manga-nization (noun): 漫画化 (nization - 化)
Cryptocurrency (noun): 仮想通貨
Cryptic (adjective): 秘密の、神秘的な
Mystery (noun): 不可解なこと
Find yourself verb+ing (expression): 気が付くと～している
Consequence (noun): (続いて起こる、 または必然的な)結果
Financial Services Agency: 金融庁
Regulator (noun): 監督官
Cryptocurrency exchange: 仮想通貨交換所

Author

Name: Brian Yap
Nationality: Canadian
Education :
M.A. in Pacific Asian Studies, SOAS University of London 
Past Work Experience :
- Tokyo Correspondent - Bloomberg Industry Group (An affiliate of Bloomberg L.P)
- Asia Reporter (Hong Kong-based) - International Financial Law Review, UK-listed Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC
- General News Reporter (Internship) - Thomson Reuters Corporation
Areas of journalism :
Sports, Entertainment, Politics, Finance, Trade, Business. etc

著者:
Brian yap ブライアン・ヤップ
学歴:
クワントレン工科大学の新聞学科 (バンクーバー、カナダ)
ロンドン大学東洋アフリカ学院の太平洋研究科 (ロンドン、イギリス)
職歴:
ブルームバーグBNAー東京特派員
ユーロマネー・インスティテューショナル・インベスターアジアレポーター (香港支社)
トムソン・ロイター (インターン) レポーター 
報道の経験/分野:
スポーツ、娯楽、政治、金融、貿易、ビジネス

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