Japanese Watch Giant Casio Forays into NFT Space: Details

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

A layer-2 blockchain for Ethereum, Astar zkEVM uses zero-knowledge proofs to increase scalability and reduce transaction costs. Announcing its partnership with Casio on X, Astar zkEVM informed the community members that these NFTs will be available within the ‘YoPort’ tab of the Yoki Origins game. Essentially, Casio has not rolled out its NFT series on traditional NFT marketplaces like OpenSea and Magic Eden.

“In celebration of Casio Watch’s 50-year legacy, we’re thrilled to announce the launch of exclusive commemorative NFTs inspired by iconic Casio timepieces. Minting Method: Unlock the thrill with Gacha & Reveal mechanics,” the blockchain platform said in its announcement.

These NFTs are tied to some benefits for holders. Ten holders of the NFTs will get a chance a limited-edition original G-Shock watches. In addition, owners of these NFTs can also receive ASTR tokens equivalent to JPY 10,000. At the time of writing, one ASTR token was trading at JPY 16.40, as per Kraken crypto exchange.

“Please note, the number of winners and contents are subject to change. Stay tuned for winner announcements,” Astar Network added.

This is not the first time that Casio has forayed into the Web3 arena. Back in 2023, the watch brand partnered with Polygon to launch a collection of 15,000 free-to-mint G-Shock Creator Pass NFTs. At the time, Casio had also launched its G-Shock NFTs into the metaverse.