The Bank of Japan has announced it will begin experimenting with a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, to check its feasibility from a technical perspective. The BoJ wants to digitize cash, but it remains to be seen if Japan can catch up with China, which has already begun testing its own CBDC. This is the first time the BoJ has revealed it would commence a proof-of-concept process with the digital yen, but the bank is yet to reveal a timetable. In a report called Technical Hurdles for CBDC, the bank stated it would “check the feasibility of CBDC from …

The number of cryptocurrency and blockchain-related companies in Japan increased by more than 30% this year. Monex Group's Monex Crypto Bank told Cointelegraph Japan on June 30 that there are 430 crypto and blockchain-related companies in Japan as of May 2020. This represents a 30.7% jump from the 329 companies reported in July 2019. The data is part of the “Blockchain Data Book 2020” that Monex Crypto Bank released on Wednesday, detailing the conditions of the Japanese blockchain industry. Monex Group runs Coincheck, one of the biggest crypto exchanges in Japan. Many firms have a primary focus on blockchain and …

The sharing economy’s potential is massive, but firms in this burgeoning space often struggle to survive unless they have a sizeable war chest like Airbnb and Uber. Now, a new blockchain-based protocol says it is aiming to tear down unsustainably high barriers to entry that are stopping startups from flourishing. The TimeCoinProtocol provides a platform so that fledgling projects can build a sharing economy service. The team behind this new concept also believes it can solve some of the biggest challenges in the gig economy. Through the platform, users can sell “time tickets” — effectively tokenizing their business hours. These …

Japanese blockchain company Soramitsu announced it would start testing a new local digital currency for retailers at the University of Aizu. According to a June 29 report in the Nikkei newspaper, Soramitsu will begin testing “White Tiger,” a digital currency sitting on the company’s native Hyperledger Iroha blockchain. The digital asset will be tested at cafeterias and shops at the University of Aizu in Fukushima Prefecture, 300 km north of Tokyo, starting on July 1 before gradually being utilized at locations off campus. The introduction of White Tiger is part of a smart city campaign by public officials and private …

BitFlyer Holdings, which runs one of Japan's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, held its general shareholders meeting Friday and, for the first time, used a blockchain voting app. In the “new normal” where social distancing is required, blockchain technology finds another use case. The voting app, called bVote, was developed by BitFlyer’s subsidiary BitFlyer Blockchain. It allowed the first virtual shareholder meeting to end “as scheduled without any troubles.” The app prevents vote forgery and manipulation and requires users to scan their My Number card (similar to Social Security Number in the United States) for identification. BitFlyer aims to introduce the app …

This week’s headlines from Japan included SBI announcing a digital asset investment fund, Bitflyer Holdings using blockchain for shareholder meeting voting, Japan's Financial Services Agency warning two unregistered crypto exchanges, a Japanese digital asset exchange self-regulatory group changing chairmen, and Coincheck announcing launch details for its digital shareholder meeting platform. Check out some of this week’s crypto and blockchain headlines, originally reported by Cointelegraph Japan. SBI unveils a crypto investment fund As an option for individual participants, Japanese financial services entity SBI Holdings expects to form and open Japan's first digital asset fund at some point over the next few …

Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings, one of the major traditional Japanese financial institutions, has unveiled a plan to develop a security token exchange. Tokai Tokyo is already an investor in Huobi Japan. According to Nikkei, as the first step in the journey, Tokai Tokyo is investing in blockchain company Hash Dash Holdings to leverage the company’s knowledge to develop the exchange. Hash Dash aims to apply blockchain technology to the financial industry for issuing digital securities and providing a trading service on smartphones. The planned exchange will trade in tokenized real estate, and Tokai Tokyo, Hash Dash and ICHX TECH will …

Japan's most famous idol just became the face of bitFlyer, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the country. Asuka Saito is one of the most popular members of Nogizaka 46, a leading idol group in Japan consisting of 46 girls. Debuted in 2011, it started as a sister group of AKB 48, the then-most popular idol unit. They have attracted many fans since then, and in 2017 and 2018 they won the Japan Record Award, the most prestigious award for musicians in the country. Idols are a type of performer unique to Japan, who are marketed and cultivated for …

Regulators in Japan may be more inclined to approve new virtual currencies for trading if they have greater financial transparency and aren’t involved in gambling Dapps. According to a new report from Xangle Research on Japanese digital asset regulations, the country's financial watchdog, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), specifically says crypto firms may be approved if they do not support decentralized applications (Dapps) with gambling or anonymous features. In particular, Xangle named Quantum (QTUM), the cryptocurrency recently made available for trading on Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck, as satisfying three essential requirements by the country's self-regulatory group, the Japan Crypto Asset …

This week’s headlines from Japan included research company Xangle releasing a report on Japanese crypto regulation, Binance supporting Japan's language but not its residents, SBI Holdings turning gift certificates digital with blockchain, and Nomura Holdings opening a crypto custody service with Ledger and Coinshares. Check out some of this week’s crypto and blockchain headlines, originally reported by Cointelegraph Japan. Research outfit details Japanese crypto regulation A new report surfaced last week from research outfit Xangle regarding Japanese digital asset regulation. Citing multiple examples of already-approved assets listed on exchanges, the report "analyzes the conditions necessary for listing a new virtual …

Japanese crypto investors have been known for their passionate support of XRP. Indeed, at one point in Japan, XRP was more popular than Bitcoin. Yet, the official data from the Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association, or JVCEA, the self-regulatory organization approved by the Financial Services Agency, or FSA, shows that XRP is losing its charm in Japan. We already saw the "XRP army" shrink in the English speaking region. As XRP's price stagnation continues, the same thing is happening in the Japanese market. On June 20th, Yuya Hasegawa, a Market Analyst at the FSA licensed crypto exchange BitBank, …

Hironao Kunimitsu, the founder of Tokyo social gaming firm Gumi, believes that blockchain-based trading of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in video games will grow to become ‘more valuable than Japan’s entire economy’. Kunimitsu was speaking about the future of gaming and NFTs at Cointelegraph Japan’s Traders Live last week. NFTs bring economic activities to gaming. They’re unique tokens representing a specific item. For example, an NFT can give game users proof of ownership of game items and characters. These can then be traded for cryptocurrencies at exchanges such as OpenSea. In Minecraft some players build lots of houses, but at present …