Japan may be on its way to creating a state-issued digital currency, but local companies in the world’s third-largest economy can still innovate and provide some healthy competition. Coincheck, the crypto exchange based in the Asian nation, currently handles trading, selling, and buying for eleven cryptocurrencies. They announced on Feb. 25 that they were planning to add another to the mix. The cryptocurrency Qtum (QTUM) will soon be the 12th available for trading on the exchange. How will Qtum be different from existing Coincheck cryptocurrencies? As with other cryptocurrencies the exchange manages, Coincheck will allow its users to send, receive, …

With finance ministers and central bank governors having recently discussed cryptocurrency regulations at the G-20 summit, Japan is taking notice at home. Leaders at the Bank of Japan (BOJ), Ministry of Finance (MOF), and Financial Services Agency (FSA) have held a number of meetings to determine whether the country should become next in line to adopt a government-sanctioned digital currency. The issues under discussion include how the Japanese government embracing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) would impact the world economy. Despite the rise of numerous crypto exchanges, the U.S. dollar continues to be the de facto global currency. Japan …

As the origin of cryptocurrency, Japan often leads the way when it comes to joint projects between companies in different fields, united by their desire to lead the pack in innovation. E-commerce giant Rakuten partnered with the East Japan Railway Company on June 5 to promote a cashless payment system. A new collaboration is in progress between the Japanese telecom giant KDDI and crypto exchange DeCurret. According to a Feb. 18 press release, the two companies — in collaboration with au Financial Holdings and WebMoney — will conduct a joint-project to test digital currency issued on a blockchain for real-world …

This past week in Japan, native exchange Bitpoint released data showing a massive deficit from 2019, Japan’s Financial Services Agency mentioned upcoming tightened regulations, Japanese and European central banks researched distributed ledger technology, Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party chairman expressed fears of Libra and the Chinese digital yuan, and the GMO Coin exchange hit 300,000 users. Check out some of this week’s crypto and blockchain headlines, originally reported by Cointelegraph Japan. Japanese exchange operates in deficit for most of 2019 Japan-based exchange Bitpoint recently publicized its monetary records for Q2, Q3 and Q4 2019, revealing a 62.9% decline in sales. The …

China continues to pull ahead in the central bank digital currency race as more details on its secretive digital yuan project intermittently surface. As a result, more countries are beginning to worry about the potential implications. Over the past few weeks, a number of Japanese lawmakers have publicly expressed their preference for a CBDC controlled by the Bank of Japan. The general idea is to counter the soon-to-be-released digital yuan from neighbouring China and prevent it from disrupting the global economy. According to a senior ruling party lawmaker, the development of a Japanese CBDC might take “two to three years.” …

A subsidiary of Japanese financial services giant SBI Holdings is partnering with German tech company Northern Data AG and Texas-based data centers operator Whinstone US Inc. The partnership was revealed in a Feb. 13 announcement, detailing that Whinstone — a subsidiary of the Frankfurt-based Northern Bitcoin AG — will host SBI Crypto at its data center in Texas, as well as assist SBI Crypto in the development of blockchain-related projects. SBI CEO Carson Smith said that the firm had been making plans with Whinstone and Northern Data for the Texas mining farm since early last year. The announcement further noted …

Another Japanese lawmaker has publicly called for the swift development of the digital yen. The head of the banking and finance systems research commission at Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, Kozo Yamamoto, said today that the country should create a digital yen in two to three years. Reuters reported on Feb. 10 that Yamamoto said that plans for its central bank digital currency (CBDC) should be included in the government’s mid-year policy guidelines. He explained that digital currencies could quickly spread in emerging economies and help China — who is working on a CBDC — advance its digital hegemony. Because of …

Japan is feeling the pressure of China’s strident moves forward with a digital yuan. According to a Feb. 7 Reuters report, top lawmakers in the country are calling on their government to push for digital currencies to be placed on the G7’s agenda this year. Akira Amari — former economy minister and a prominent member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party — told a group of lawmakers convened to discuss the matter that: “Japan should work in close coordination with the United States. As part of such efforts, we should ask the United States to set (digital currency) on the …

A Japanese court has demanded a man who infected website visitors with cryptocurrency mining malware face justice — after acquitting him. As local daily news outlet The Mainichi reported on Feb. 7, the Tokyo High Court overturned a previous ruling which cleared the man, who was not named, of any wrongdoing. Visitors “not informed” of malware According to the original indictment, the 32-year-old web designer installed the Coinhive miner on his own website in October 2017. It was active for a month, using visitors’ devices to mine cryptocurrency for his own benefit — a practice known as “cryptojacking.” The man …

Back in April 2018, the Reserve Bank of India decided to go ahead and issue a notice prohibiting all of India’s banking and financial institutions from offering their services to crypto exchanges, companies operating within the space, and individuals seeking to explore the nascent asset class. Following the ban, India’s crypto ecosystem was brought to its knees, with a majority of operational exchanges either folding up completely or relocating to other nations with more hospitable regulations. Additionally, the notice resulted in digital currencies being maligned across India’s investment landscape, with many casual enthusiasts starting to view the overall sector with …

Six major central banks will meet in April to discuss the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The Japan Times reported on Feb. 6 that — according to a source familiar with the matter — the meeting will see the governors of several central banks discuss joint research on CBDCs. Furthermore, the group will share considerations on possible challenges such as cross-currency settlement and cybersecurity. The central banks of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Sweden and Switzerland will reportedly meet in Washington D.C., when the participants will be there for an International Monetary Fund conference. The …

LVC Corporation, the crypto subsidiary of messaging giant Line, will launch trading of its proprietary cryptocurrency Link in Japan in April. According to a press release on Jan. 30, LVC is also developing a system meant for Link’s debut in Japan on its local cryptocurrency exchange BitMax. Line already began Link trading on its international BitBox cryptocurrency exchange in mid-October 2018. Due to stricter national cryptocurrency regulations in Japan, LVC had to wait to obtain a license from local financial regulators in September 2019 before launching its BitMax cryptocurrency exchange in the country. According to its official website, Link allows …