Regulatory burdens, a lack of services consumers can feel, and delayed corporate adoption were cited as reasons cryptocurrencies and blockchain have yet to spread widely across society despite their technical potential. The industry forecast that stablecoins and improvements to user experience (UX) will be key variables determining mainstream adoption over the next 1 to 2 years.

CoinPost, a blockchain media outlet, reported on July 22 local time that a panel session at Japan's WebX 2026 featured Sota Watanabe (와타나베 소타), CEO of Startale Group, Kazuo Miura (미우라 가즈오), an executive principal at Simplex, and Tomohiko Kondo (곤도 도모히코), head of SBI VC Trade. They discussed the cryptocurrency industry's limitations over the past decade and its future growth direction.

The panelists first pointed to corporate adoption falling short of expectations. Miura explained that blockchain technology itself had ample potential, but many cases did not carry through to real business application because companies' digital transformation progressed slowly. He said practical constraints such as heavy paperwork and legacy systems delayed blockchain adoption, but the scope of use is likely to expand as companies' digital transformation advances.

The crypto exchange industry assessed that repeated hacking incidents and subsequent regulatory tightening were obstacles to market growth. Kondo said that each time large-scale hacks occurred at Coincheck, Bitpoint and DMM Bitcoin, it took substantial cost and time to respond to regulation and restore trust, and the broader regulatory environment for the industry also became stricter.

Some also said the market's foundation is steadily expanding. Miura said Japan already has more than 10 million cryptocurrency trading accounts and that the industry has established itself, adding that growth is meaningful even compared with the number of subscribers to Japan's Nippon Individual Savings Account (NISA). Kondo also said the cryptocurrency industry is gradually changing in a direction that builds compliance and oversight systems at the level of financial institutions.

The panelists agreed that blockchain is likely to become an invisible infrastructure rather than a technology directly seen by consumers. Watanabe said that while generative AI is technology users can directly feel, blockchain boosts operational efficiency behind the scenes of services. He cited the case of decentralised exchange Hyperliquid, run by a small number of people, handling trading volumes that in some cases rival Nasdaq, and assessed that blockchain is proving competitiveness in cost reduction and operational efficiency.

They identified "everyday usefulness" as the final task for mainstream adoption. Kondo said that for stablecoins to become an everyday payment method, services that let consumers directly feel convenience must appear first. Miura also said that alongside building stablecoin infrastructure, the process of connecting blockchain's strengths to real business models remains.

Watanabe forecast that the next 1 to 2 years will be a watershed for the industry. He said that just as generative AI spread quickly into mass services after the emergence of core technology, stablecoins could also see adoption accelerate sharply if applications appear that provide a user experience so seamless that people cannot feel the difference from existing financial services.

The industry forecast the crypto market will grow another step by 2030. Kondo suggested that crypto's share of Japanese household financial assets, currently below 1 percent, could expand to around 10 percent within the next 4 years. He also forecast that if the combination of AI and blockchain accelerates in earnest, an era could open in which AI agents hold their own wallets and conduct transactions.

The panelists agreed that crypto's future is likely to develop not only by creating new services but by naturally permeating as a foundational infrastructure for existing finance and digital services. The industry sees whether regulation improves and stablecoins spread over the next 2 years as key variables that will determine the blockchain industry's next growth phase.