Aptos Labs enters Japan through HashPalette acquisition

Aptos Labs, the developer of the Aptos Network, has signed an agreement to acquire HashPalette, a Japanese non-fungible token (NFT) service provider, in a move to expand its presence in Asia.

On Oct. 3, HashPalette announced its decision to migrate to a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aptos Labs following an agreement with its previous owner, HashPort. As part of the acquisition, the Palette Chain blockchain and existing HashPalette applications will be migrated to the Aptos Network.

According to Aptos Labs, the HashPalette acquisition — which is subject to customary closing conditions and approvals — will be key to expanding into the Asian markets. 

Aptos strengthens presence in Japan

Aptos Labs is the innovation arm of the Aptos Foundation, dedicated to innovations and development for retailers.

The company plans to use HashPalette’s relationships with Japanese businesses as “a gateway to some of Japan’s most influential companies.” It aims to support local Web3 participants, including developers, NFT creators and enterprises. According to Mo Shaikh, founder and CEO of Aptos Labs:

“The agreement to acquire HashPalette and the migration of HashPort’s Palette Chain into Aptos are critical first steps toward empowering Japanese enterprises and developers with cutting-edge blockchain technology.”

Meanwhile, HashPort will continue to serve its enterprise clients using Aptos Network’s infrastructure.

Related: Aptos hits all-time high in user transactions

Aptos Labs did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

Aptos onboards Franklin Templeton fund

In a related development, Aptos’ layer-1 blockchain will host the Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund (FOBXX) following a partnership between Aptos Foundation and global asset management giant Franklin Templeton.

FOBXX became the first United States-registered mutual fund to use blockchain technology, initially on the Stellar network, to process transactions and record share ownership.

“To reach that future, we need to connect not just the TradFi and DeFi worlds, but EVM and non-EVM networks as well,” said Bashar Lazaar, head of grants and ecosystem at the Aptos Foundation.

Each share of the fund is tokenized and represented as one BENJI token, which can be stored in digital wallets.

According to Roger Bayston, head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton, Aptos Network’s “unique characteristics” met the suitability standards for the Benji platform.

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