A consortium made up of 70 Japanese firms have banded together to create a Yen-based cryptocurrency tentatively called “DCJPY”.
The new crypto coin — tentatively called DCJPY — will be backed by a partnership between three of the country’s largest banking corporations: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group, and Sumitomo Financial Group. Up to 70 Japanese firms have already announced that they would launch the Yen-based cryptocurrency in 2022, and the three major players have been engaging in discussions since 2020 to build the necessary infrastructure for digital payments. Other members in the 70-strong consortium include massive companies such as the Kansai Electric Power Company and the East Japan Railway Company.
Some of the other members of the consortium include the East Japan Railway Company and Kansai Electric Power Company. They plan to start testing the cryptocurrency in the coming months. The experiment is separate from the work the Bank of Japan is doing to create a digital yen. CBDCs are something China and the US are exploring as well. For Japan, there’s an additional incentive to the push. It’s a country that famously loves cash. Even as recently as 2018, 80 percent of all retail transactions in the country were completed in notes and coins. It’s something the government of Japan has tried to change as a way to make the country’s economy more consumer-friendly and productive.
“A digital currency system built on a bank deposit-backed common platform will fit the CBDC that could be planned and implemented” in Japan, Toshihide Endo, a former head of Japan’s Financial Services Agency who is currently a special advisor to DeCurret, said at the Wednesday conference, referring to a central bank digital currency.
Japan is one of the most cash-loving countries in the world, with many transactions still completed using notes and coins. Still, authorities have been keen to promote cashless transactions to increase productivity. Within the public sector, the Bank of Japan has prioritised the development of a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, with a focus on providing seamless payment channels between the so-called digital yuan and electronic payment services.
