Why Do Financial Crises Repeat? Considering Risks and Financial Regulations from History ("So That's Blockchain Ep.19" Yoshihiko Uchida, Yuya Sakai, Shinya Otsuga)

"So That's Blockchain" Ep.19

In this podcast, Yoshihiko Uchida, who has a background in banking supervision at the Bank of Japan and the Financial Services Agency and currently teaches blockchain at Shunan University, Yuya Sakai, a founder of a gourmet app who has combined Web2 services with blockchain to build a Web3 business, and Shinya Otsuga, deputy editor of the crypto media "New Economy," introduce what you should know about blockchain today.

In this 19th episode, building on previous discussions about "stablecoins" and "DeFi," we delve into the theme of "market stability and financial order," exploring what financial regulations aim to protect.

First, we organized the concept of "risk" from the perspective of business continuity. In this discussion, we focus on the potential for "business continuity to be compromised" due to unexpected events causing capital impairment or liquidity shortages.

We explained that financial regulations have two main objectives: "protection of investors and consumers" and "stability of the financial system." We acknowledge that even if individual participants act rationally, the overall system can still lead to a crisis, and we confirm the role of supporting the economy to continue operating at "cruising speed."

Additionally, we touched on the idea that vulnerabilities can accumulate even in peaceful times when crises are not occurring, and that it is necessary to capture the stability of the financial system from both the interconnectedness of financial institutions and markets and the changes over time.

Next, we traced the history of financial crises from the time of Emperor Tiberius of the Roman Empire, through the speculative booms of the South Sea Company and Mississippi Company, the London Panic, the Great Depression, and the Lehman Shock. We organized the mechanisms by which excessive credit expansion and sudden contraction, along with the interdependence of market participants, lead to crises. We also confirmed that the collapse of a "bubble" fueled by rising expectations of asset prices is not necessarily the same as a financial crisis. We touched on the perspective that fiat currency itself is not always the cause of a crisis.

Furthermore, we explained that the stability of the financial system is not about fixing prices but is supported by the mechanisms of rights and obligations, settlement, and credit that continue to operate "predictably." The purpose of regulation is not to eliminate losses entirely but to "burden those who can bear the losses" and to maintain the settlement function. We highlighted the perspective of preventing localized failures from spreading to the entire real economy.

Finally, we posed the question of what kind of finance on-chain finance wants to realize. We discussed the balance between enhancing the certainty of settlements and supporting economic activities through credit.

The next episode, Episode 20, is scheduled to be released on October 6, 2026. We will delve into the thinking behind avoiding financial crises and the role of financial regulations. We will also consider perspectives on evaluating new financial transaction mechanisms, including on-chain finance and crypto.

Public Recording Vol.3 Scheduled for 10/1 at 19:00

In addition, "So Bro" will hold the third public recording on October 1 at 19:00 in Yotsuya!

The theme is "How to Work with Lawyers in Blockchain Business."

This time, we will welcome Yuya Hara, a partner lawyer at AZX Law Office, and delve into "So That's Blockchain" regarding how to work with lawyers.

On the day, besides "what you should know about legal compliance," Mr. Hara and the three regular members will deep dive into recent topics from a blockchain perspective.

Details and participation registration can be found here.

Listen to the Podcast

You can listen to the program from the following links. Please press the play button (wait about 10 seconds after clicking).

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• Listen on "Voicy"
• Listen on "YouTube"

Participants

Yoshihiko Uchida: 1994-2023 at the Bank of Japan. Roles included planning at the Financial Research Institute and the Financial Institutions Bureau (Group Leader). He has provided various insights into risk management and management of financial institutions. During this time, he also worked at the Financial Services Agency, Osaka University, and the University of Tokyo. From June to November 2023, he served as a director at Questory Co., Ltd., and from April to December 2024, he will participate as a director at Kashei, engaging in Web3 startups. Currently, he is a professor at the Faculty of Information Science at Shunan University (since June 2023) and also serves as an outside director at Cyberlinks Co., Ltd. (from March 2024), promoting businesses related to digital ID and electronic signatures, as well as consulting related to blockchain utilization as the representative director of Yuidzumu Co., Ltd. (from October 2025).

X Account: https://x.com/uchida_tomato

Yuya Sakai: Co-founded SARAH Co., Ltd. during his student days. In addition to Japan's largest menu-focused gourmet app "SARAH," he built a big data service for the food service industry called "FoodDataBank" for major food manufacturers. As COO, he led fundraising of 1 billion yen and M&A, PMI. Since 2019, he has led the Web3 transformation of SARAH. He developed a Layer 1 proprietary blockchain called "ONIGIRI Chain" focused on data management in food and healthcare and built a token economy. After stepping down as representative director in 2025, he became independent. He is currently engaged in consulting focused on the practical application of blockchain utilization and Web3 businesses.

X Account: https://x.com/skyuya03

Interviewer: Shinya Otsuga, Deputy Editor of New Economy

Official X of So That's Blockchain: https://x.com/soublock
Official Site of So That's Blockchain: https://soublock.com/