A Year of Progress: Soramitsu’s Role in Advancing Blockchain Globally in 2024

As we close the chapter on 2024, Soramitsu celebrates a year of groundbreaking blockchain achievements. From continued expansion of financial inclusion through Cambodia’s Bakong platform to launching innovative projects like blockchain-based savings bonds in Palau, we’ve worked tirelessly to build technology that transforms lives.

Join us in reflecting on a year dedicated to advancing humanity through blockchain innovation. Our mission—enhancing financial inclusion, promoting social equality, and elevating humanity through cutting-edge technology—remains steadfast. Let's review our achievements.

Cambodia's Bakong payment platform achieved a significant milestone by the end of 2023, surpassing 10.9 million users and facilitating over $300 million in daily transactions. This remarkable growth carried into 2024, with a rising proportion of transactions conducted in Cambodian Riel, showcasing progress in the nation’s efforts to reduce dollarization.

By integrating QR code technology, Bakong has enabled seamless cross-border payments with Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Laos. Plans are underway to expand these services to India and Japan, building on its previous partnership with China's Alipay+ in 2023. These advancements set a new standard for regional financial connectivity and have successfully brought even rural communities into the fold of the modern digital economy.

In 2024, the National Bank of Cambodia also launched the Bakong Tourist App, a digital payment solution tailored to international visitors. The app allows tourists to make payments in Cambodian Riel, directly converting their home currency via participating financial institutions. This innovation not only simplifies transactions for travelers but also promotes the use of the local currency, further supporting Cambodia’s de-dollarization strategy.

Partnering with Palau’s Ministry of Finance and the Japanese Government, Soramitsu developed a blockchain-based savings bond system, helping direct funds toward local infrastructure development. This project underlines our commitment to financial inclusion and efficiency in public finance systems.

“The significance of this moment extends beyond the creation of a new financial product and digital platform. The savings bonds initiative enables us to fund key projects – such as housing, SME development, roads, and other essential services – with capital sourced domestically. These projects are not just critical to infrastructure, but they also generate spillover effects that ripple throughout and within our local economy. By investing in these areas, we stimulate job creation, enhance business opportunities, and foster a more vibrant economic environment. This initiative represents a broader effort by Palau to take greater control of its financial future – one where we determine the direction of our development and invest directly in our nation’s growth.,” — H.E. President Surangel Whipps Jr.

We worked with the Central Bank of Papua New Guinea to explore blockchain’s potential to tackle pressing issues such as financial exclusion and security challenges. The proof-of-concept demonstrates how digital currencies could bridge gaps in underserved regions, enabling seamless and secure transactions for everyday use. Stay tuned for more news on this initiative in 2025.

In 2023, we demonstrated cost-effective international transactions for the Solomon Islands’ CBDC, Bokolo Cash, bridging public and permissioned blockchain systems together. In 2024, we advanced this concept more with the SORA v3 Hub Chain, as part of the Palau Invest savings bond system and Papua New Guinea CBDC PoC, which promises to reduce costs for central banks to run digital currency and asset management systems and enable cross-border transactions.

The Palau Invest project operates on SORA v3 Hub Chain’s Hyperledger Iroha 2-based network, an open source blockchain platform that uses the latest technology to make it easy to program decentralized apps that are fast and highly performant. Hyperledger Iroha 2’s innovative technology is best in class and is more than capable of processing the transactional needs of everyone in Palau, and by using the SORA v3 Hub Chain platform, Palau can issue blockchain-based bonds without spending significant costs to run the infrastructure.

Hyperledger Iroha 2 achieved significant milestones in 2024, focusing on stabilizing APIs and enhancing functionality. Key releases, including pre-rc.22.2, introduced improvements in smart contracts, scalability, and cross-chain interoperability. These updates prepared Iroha for its anticipated Long-Term Support (LTS) release, targeting production-grade usability for enterprises and developers alike.

The project fostered community growth through hackathons, workshops, and open-source contributions, building a strong developer ecosystem. Real-world applications in supply chain, digital identity, and asset tokenization showcased Iroha's versatility.

Looking forward, Iroha 2's roadmap prioritizes achieving a stable LTS release with enterprise-grade features and scalability. Governance enhancements and industry recognition have solidified its reputation as a developer-friendly, modular DLT solution. With a focus on innovation and real-world impact, Iroha 2 is poised to drive broader blockchain adoption in 2025 and beyond.

In 2024, Fraud Intelligence Limited (FIL), a UK incorporate Joint Venture between Orillion and SORAMITSU, achieved significant advancements in combating telecommunications fraud. A revamped user interface launched in June streamlined workflows and introduced key features like a confidence index for data enrichment, immediate fraud-type access, dynamic report filtering, and flexible subscriptions. These updates improved operational efficiency, making fraud detection faster and more intuitive for professionals.

FIL expanded its platform’s capabilities by adding geographic filtering, enhanced security, dynamic expiration for fraud identifiers, and data attribution. These tools allowed precise, region-specific threat management. Notably, the platform saw over 1 million fraud identifiers shared in 2024, doubling its data contributions and strengthening its fraud intelligence network.

Strategic partnerships reinforced FIL’s industry leadership. Collaborations with TMT ID and Telecoms Fraud Intelligence integrated advanced mobile number intelligence and investigation tools into FIL’s blockchain platform. Joining the ONE Consortium further extended its global reach, bolstering FIL’s ability to deliver comprehensive solutions for tackling illegal communications and fraud worldwide.

Fearless Wallet marked 2024 as a transformative year by expanding its network support to over 80 blockchains, including Substrate-based and EVM-compatible networks like Avail, Polygon ZKEVM, and Avalanche C-chain.

The wallet integrated full support for The Open Network (TON), allowing seamless wallet management and transactions for TON users. With updates to its mobile and desktop applications, Fearless Wallet enhanced its user experience, introducing streamlined interfaces, performance optimizations, and multi-language support, further solidifying its position as a leader in blockchain interoperability.

We focused on empowering users through innovative integrations and features adding Polkaswap liquidity pool management, real-time price feeds via Chainlink, and cross-network activity monitoring through Nomis Multi-Chain Score. Support for staking, particularly for the Reef chain, expanded staking opportunities. Fearless Wallet also enhanced security with collaborations like CUBE3.ai and OKX, ensuring users have a safe and efficient platform for managing their digital assets.

Looking ahead, Fearless Wallet is preparing groundbreaking initiatives, including cross-chain swaps for EVM chains, deeper ecosystem support for TON, and SORA Card integration. These efforts, combined with its existing partnerships and innovations, underscore its dedication to driving the future of decentralized finance. By continuously improving its technology and user accessibility, Fearless Wallet remains a cornerstone for blockchain users seeking a seamless multi-chain experience.

In 2024, Polkaswap introduced a decentralized on-chain order book, allowing market and limit orders with real-time liquidity data and optimized trading via Aggregate Liquidity Technology (ALT). These features rivaled centralized exchanges, offering users unparalleled efficiency.

The platform expanded cross-chain interoperability through the HASHI Substrate Bridge and introduced the Polkaswap Telegram Mini App for seamless trading. Integration of liquidity pools into SORA and Fearless Wallets simplified user interactions and liquidity management.

User-centric upgrades included real-time swap route visualization, WalletConnect support, and the Kensetsu lending platform for borrowing stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies and commodities, boosting Polkaswap’s DeFi offerings.

Zenswap is a cross-chain liquidity platform being developed by Soramitsu as a joint venture with Analog, enabling seamless and secure asset swaps across multiple blockchains using USDC-based routing and advanced interoperability technology.

In collaboration with Iroha Engineering, we launched IWAFUNE, simplifying blockchain operational management for digital currencies, authentication, and traceability applications in Japan. This advancement reduces operational complexity and fosters nationwide blockchain adoption.

In partnership with Immunefi, we conducted a comprehensive training program on Polkadot’s blockchain fundamentals, governance, and security practices. Through hands-on projects and in-depth modules, we equipped participants with the knowledge to build secure, scalable solutions within the Polkadot ecosystem.

We joined forces with the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER) to advance blockchain research and capacity building. This partnership aims to foster innovation in financial inclusion and economic development in Nigeria, marking an important step toward global blockchain adoption.