Japanese giant GMO has entered the non-fungible token (NFT) business with the establishment of a new joint venture. GMO Financial Holdings is the largest partner in the venture with a 73.46 percent stake, while GMO Internet and Samurai Partners hold 12.24 percent and 11.02 percent, respectively.

The official press release published on Wednesday detailed that the Japanese giant will establish an NFT marketplace, called GMO Adam, through joint capital investment. According to the company, its new NFT business will help in ‘value creation and to enhance its corporate value’.

Is It a Good Time to Start NFT Business?

The conglomerate entered the NFT space at a time when the market saw a massive demand across spaces, from tech enthusiasts to celebrities. The newly brewed space has witnessed transactions worth billions of dollars over a few months.

However, many viewed the demand as another crypto bubble. Recent data also shows that crypto transactions related to NFTs went down by 90 percent from the peak. But the industry still remains promising as many well-known artists are launching their arts on NFT markets.

GMO Adam will leverage the network of Samurai Partners, which is a big name in the local manga illustrations, to tap creators to launch their arts on the marketplace.

“Entering crypto assets business has enabled GMO Internet to accumulate a customer base, expertise, and blockchain technology. GMO Adam will make full use of them and is intended to release its new marketplace that will allow customers to trade NFT,” GMO stated.

GMO entered into the crypto business in 2017 with the launch of a cryptocurrency exchange. It is also focusing on crypto payments, and one of its subsidiaries launched a Japanese yen-pegged stablecoin.

Meanwhile, other established crypto companies are also entering the NFT space. Binance and local Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck also opened their own NFT marketplaces.