Japan’s largest bank, Mitsubishi Tokyo-UFJ, is planning to issue its own digital coin, thus becoming the first major organization in the world to launch this initiative, according to the bank.
Mitsubishi Tokyo-UFJ is developing a digital coin tentatively called “MUFG” (due to the English acronym of the bank), which is going to be used in buying operations, bank transfers and foreign currency exchange at a lower cost than regular currencies.
Development phase
The coin is in “development phase” and for the moment there is not an exact date to begin its circulation, explained a bank spokesperson, even though the Japanese journal Asahi noted that the issuance will start in autumn.
This initiative, with no precedents in the international banking, would take the Asian country back at the forefront of digital coins, after the Government approved in 2014 the first regulatory framework to control digital coins.
The bank has created its own computing platform to support the coin, based on blockchains, a sending information system linked to the origins of Bitcoin and also used by another cryptocurrencies or instruments of payment that have their material value in the data encryption.
The operation of the future coin will be similar to the digital wallets currently used in stores and public transit of Japan.
The main difference with these digital wallets is that the virtual coin will be interchangeable among its users and will be requested electronically (computers or smartphones), according to Asahi.
New technology
Mitsubishi Tokyo-UFJ is also working in the development of a new generation of ATM’s which can perform operations with this virtual coin and with smartphones.
Likewise the bank is negotiating alliances with companies and organizations of Japan for the acceptance of the coin, in order to promote a financial and commercial market based on it, as the aforementioned source noted.
Due to the bankruptcy scandal of Mt. Gox in 2014, which was the largest Bitcoins exchange office globally, the Japanese government approved a pioneer law in the world to designate this coin as a merchandise and not a currency.
The Executive Power of Japan is trying to get a legislative change to allow that Bitcoin and some other digital coins are used as regular coins, in order to strengthen the protection of its users and to facilitate its use.
Source: EL PAIS