Digital asset exchange DeCurret is leading Japan’s three megabanks in a new study group to look into developing a national digital settlement infrastructure. Convening with the oversight of the central bank and the country's financial watchdog — the Financial Services Agency (FSA) — Decurret said on June 3 that the group would seek to define a “direction for the realization of valuable digital currencies in Japan.” The group will be chaired by the former head of the Payment and Settlement Systems Department at the Bank of Japan, Hiromi Yamaoka. Participants include Japan’s leading banks — MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank and …

Major Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck has suffered a data breach involving unauthorized access to the platform’s domain registration service. Coincheck is one of the world’s oldest crypto exchanges. They suffered a $500 million hack in 2018, which is considered to be the biggest crypto theft in history. The exchange has now encountered another apparent attack that could lead to customers’ personal data and emails being leaked, Cointelegraph Japan reports June 2. Deposits and withdrawals operate while remittances are halted Announcing the incident on Tuesday, Coincheck said that the breach had “no impact on the customer's assets” this time. However, Coincheck …

Finance Minister Taro Aso suggested he was unwilling to push for lowering the tax rate on cryptocurrencies in Japan to a flat 20% because it’s difficult for many households to invest in digital assets. Aso was responding to a question from Japan Restoration Association member Shun Otokita at a meeting of the House of Councillors Committee on Financial Affairs which convened on June 2. “Out of 1900 trillion yen [17.6 billion USD] financial assets held by households in Japan, around 900 trillion yen [8.4 billion USD] is now being held as cash deposits and that is abnormal," said Aso. Despite …

This week’s headlines from Japan included GMO Coin exchange polling customers on their view of digital assets, Lisk opening a base in Japan, Bitflyer showing 2019 net losses, blockchain startup LayerX securing significant funding, and two entities reported successful collaborative blockchain-based securities experiments. Check out some of this week’s crypto and blockchain headlines, originally reported by Cointelegraph Japan. GMO Coin users pick Bitcoin over XRP GMO Coin, a crypto exchange under Japanese tech outfit GMO, conducted a poll, asking users which crypto asset they think holds the most promising future. Out of 1,578 polled exchange users, 47% put Bitcoin as …

For crypto enthusiasts, choosing a location to live in that supports an ideal lifestyle extends beyond searching for a city with a high number of shops and retail outlets that accept crypto. Sure, any crypto enthusiast will benefit from living in an area with easy access to crypto-related amenities. However, as the world of crypto evolves and more crypto debit cards appear, crypto enthusiasts are realizing that direct crypto spending is not the only factor to consider when choosing a place to call home. The political stability of the location, the weather and internet broadband speed are some of the …

Blockchain technology firm, LayerX, has raised about 3 billion yen (equivalent to nearly $28 million) to further blockchain adoption. The Japanese version of Cointelegraph reported on May 28 that LayerX raised the funds from venture capital firms JAFCO, ANRI, and Yahoo Group. JAFCO board member, Keisuke Miyoshi, commented: “Corona has exposed various issues in Japan. It is further accelerating [digitization]. Blockchain is not just a technology buzzword.” The news follows April reports revealing that most of the fundraising in the crypto space shifted from the Americas to the Asia Pacific regions, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. According to a …

This week’s headlines from Japan included BitBank exchange adding three trading pairs, Bitpoint exchange posting decreased fiscal year totals, Bitpoint adding information on its 2019 hack, and Binance donating masks to Japanese nursing homes through its charity arm. Check out some of this week’s crypto and blockchain headlines, originally reported by Cointelegraph Japan. BitBank adds three more asset pairings Japan's BitBank exchange gave details this week on three upcoming additional trading pairs. The platform originally unveiled the fresh pairs in late April. On May 24, BitBank will complete a four-hour offline upgrade to put the pairs into play. After the …

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange bitbank has begun implementing changes to make it compliant with the country’s revised Payment Services Act (PSA), effective May 1. Atsushi Kuwabara from bitbank spoke to Cointelegraph on how local exchanges and regulatory bodies would be responding to modifications of cryptocurrency-related laws first proposed by the Japanese House of Representatives in 2019. Crypto by any other name Under the modifications to the PSA, all references to “virtual currency” must be replaced with the term “crypto asset”. Cointelegraph has reported that the country’s self-regulatory group, the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Agency (JVCEA), has changed its name to the …

Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma is stepping down from the board of Japanese tech giant and major blockchain backer SoftBank. After 13 years of close involvement with SoftBank, China’s richest man leaves the board amid SoftBank posting its worst operating losses in its history. According to a May 17 report by Japanese publication Nikkei, Ma’s departure announcement amid Softbank’s Vision Fund reporting record-breaking losses of 1.8 trillion yen ($16.7 billion). Softbank’s total annual losses accounted for 1.36 trillion yen ($12.7 billion) for the year ending March 31, the company reported. China’s richest man to leave Softbank’s board on June 25 Announcing …

Japan-based Media Do Holdings will be investing $2.8 million toward distributed ledger technology for the distribution of its e-books. According to a Sunday article in the Nikkei newspaper, Media Do Holdings plans to invest 300 million yen — roughly $2.8 million United States dollars at the time of writing — into developing a distributed ledger for the company’s e-books for the next two years starting in late 2020. The company cited that being able to have a reliable transaction history via such a ledger for e-books makes it possible to sell used copies and to return royalties to both publishers …

The biggest credit card issuer in Japan, JCB, has partnered with technology accelerator TECHFUND to build a sustainable transaction system on the blockchain. According to a May 15 statement released by JCB, the partnership will utilize TECHFUND's expertise on security token offerings (STOs) and staking to create a new platform for transactions. Also based in Tokyo, TECHFUND has a program called ACCEL BaaS (Blockchain as a Service) which aims to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technologies for startups and enterprises. JCB moves towards blockchain The financial firm has made some steps towards innovative solutions to online payments. Cointelegraph reported in …

Ripple partner and investor, SBI Holdings, announced plans to integrate Ripple-powered settlements across ATMs in Japan. The news was revealed in SBI’s latest financial report, announcing a plan to integrate the Ripple-powered settlements platform MoneyTap with ATMs run by various banks across Japan. The integration is intended to provide consumers with easier access to funds at ATMs regardless of their banking affiliation. SBI to integrate Ripple tech across Japanese ATMs SBI claims that integrating MoneyTap will also allow banks to reduce the costs incurred through operating an ATMs, stating: “Currently, each bank has an ATM with its own bank app, …