Yusuke Obinata (Obi)

Yusuke Obinata, commonly known as Obi, embarked on his journey in the tech and startup world after immersing himself in backpacking across Southeast Asia at a young age. His experiences led him to East Ventures, a prominent venture capital firm in Japan and Southeast Asia, where he assumed the role of International Director. With a track record of collaborating with over 50 early-stage startups in Asia since 2014, Obi has garnered extensive experience in the startup ecosystem.

Additionally, Obi played a pivotal role in advancing blockchain technology in Japan by spearheading the founding of the Ethereum Japan community. He was instrumental in organizing Japan's first student-centric blockchain developer community, facilitating engagements with international projects like Quantstamp, Dapper Labs (CryptoKitties), Celo, and more. His passion for blockchain culminated in orchestrating NodeTokyo, Tokyo's premier tech-focused blockchain conference, in 2018.

Throughout his academic journey, Obi studied Political Science & Economics, International Relations, and Affairs at Waseda University and completed his high school education at 渋谷幕張高校 / Shibuya Makuhari High School. His affiliations span across various organizations such as the Web3 Foundation, St. Gallen Symposium, LayerX Inc., and CoinDesk Japan, where he held roles ranging from Founder to Conference Advisory Board.