This week in Japan, SBI Holdings’ president said to watch for central bank digital currencies, or CBDC, Coincheck exchange tallied top app downloads for exchanges is 2019, Japan’s central bank head forecasted CBDC demand, a Japanese political party proposed blockchain for document security, and a research institute unveiled a crypto index. Check out some of this week’s crypto and blockchain headlines, originally reported by Cointelegraph Japan. President of Japanese financial services giant says CBDC is a big deal Yoshitaka Kitao, President of Tokyo-based financial services company SBI holding, called central bank digital currencies “the biggest thing to watch out for,” …

The deputy governor of the Bank of Japan has said the institution must be ready to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) should public demand surge in response to technical developments. In a strong statement of a future-oriented vision for the bank, Masayoshi Amamiya told attendees at a seminar — as per a Reuters report on Jan. 30 — that: “The speed of technical innovation is very fast. Depending on how things unfold in the world of settlement systems, public demand for CBDCs could soar in Japan. We must be prepared to respond if that happens.” BOJ: no imminent …

This week’s headlines from Japan include several central banks collaborating on digital currency research, Binance removing the Japanese yen from its platform, Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party investigating digital assets, comments from Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister on digital currency research importance, and Coincheck paying out its first Lisk staking reward. Check out some of this week’s crypto and blockchain headlines, originally reported by Cointelegraph Japan. Japanese political party proposes digital currencies Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party aims to propose a national digital asset in spring of this year, according to some reports. A parliamentary group of 70 lawmakers will reportedly submit …

Ruling party lawmakers in Japan are reportedly working on a proposal to issue a national digital currency, Reuters reports on Jan. 24. This appears to be a response to fears of a Chinese digital yuan. The planned digital yen would be jointly developed by the government and private companies, and would follow many similar initiatives around the globe. The proposal is worked on by a parliamentary group comprised of 70 Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers. The group plans to submit the proposal to the government some time in February. Deploying the digital yen will take some time due to Japan’s late …

Two men have been arrested in Tokyo on suspicion of defrauding IT firm Vipstar Inc. from hundreds of thousands of dollars in Bitcoin (BTC), Mainichi reported on Jan. 23. One of the suspects is a former employee who used his access to steal money from a trading fund. Yuto Onitsuka and Takuma Sasaki are accused of stealing 78 million yen (approximately $712,000) from Vipstar, a blockchain project. They are also suspected of committing computer fraud and contravening a government act on the control of criminal proceeds. The police alleges that on Oct. 29, 2018, the suspects made 12 unauthorized entries …

The former head of payments and settlements at the Bank of Japan (BOJ) says Facebook’s Libra galvanized central banks globally to look seriously into digital currency issuance. A Jan. 22 Reuters report cited remarks by Hiromi Yamaoka, who reportedly oversaw the BOJ’s research into digital currencies as part of his erstwhile role and continues to communicate closely with international central bank policymakers. He is presently a board member at IT consultancy firm Future Corp. The private-public debate As reported yesterday, the central banks of Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, European Union, Sweden and Switzerland have just announced their creation of …

The central banks of Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, European Union, Sweden and Switzerland created a group with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) to jointly research central bank digital currencies (CBDC). According to a press release published by the Bank of England on Jan. 21, the aforementioned institutions will share their experience with other group members as they study potential use cases for CBDCs in their respective jurisdictions. The announcement states: “The group will assess CBDC use cases; economic, functional and technical design choices, including cross-border interoperability; and the sharing of knowledge on emerging technologies. It will closely coordinate …

Following the session that took place last August, a three-judge panel from India’s Supreme Court reconvened once again this week to discuss the much-hyped Crypto v. RBI case. During the last hearing, the Supreme Court had asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to clarify its position as to why exactly it enforced a nationwide banking ban on the country’s crypto market, as well as to discuss the seemingly unconstitutional nature of its aforementioned move. Ever since the RBI decided to go ahead and issue its controversial prohibition order, a number of public and industry-led petitions have been filed by …

This week’s news from Japan included additional comments against crypto trading from China, Binance’s potential involvement in Japan, positivity from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), more crypto exits from European Union (EU) regions, and stablecoin positivity from France. Check out some of this week’s crypto and blockchain headlines, originally reported by Cointelegraph Japan. China reaffirms its stance against crypto trading Crypto-hostile China has once again confirmed its ban on crypto asset trading, according to comments from Beijing’s director of Financial Supervisory Administration Huo Xuewen. "Virtual currencies cannot be used as legitimate digital currencies," Huo said to a Chinese news outlet …

In a Jan. 15 announcement on Binance’s Japanese support website, the exchange revealed it would restrict access to residents of Japan at an unspecified later date. The restriction is said to be implemented gradually, with details to be revealed later, according to the announcement. Currently, there are no restrictions in place and Japanese users are able to operate the exchange normally. Binance was previously headquartered in Japan after exiting China. As Cointelegraph reported in March 2018, the exchange moved its operations to Malta following an official warning by Japanese regulators due to its lack of a national exchange license. Several …

The Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) — the country’s financial regulator — proposed lowering the leverage rate limit of cryptocurrency margin trading from 4x to 2x. The FSA announced the proposed measure on Jan. 14 in a cabinet office ordinance — an official order that is issued along with a new law. If enacted, the proposal would be a first for the Japanese government in regulating the rate of crypto margin trading. According to Nikkei, there were previously no rules set by the state. The FSA reportedly plans to put the order into practice in April when a revised version …

This week’s news from Japan included declining trading volume, statements from prominent figures on China’s pending digital currency, a Lisk staking announcement and a blockchain-based letter of credit. Check out some of this week’s crypto and blockchain headlines, originally reported by Cointelegraph Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Aso warns against digital Yuan Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Financial Minister Taro Aso urged people to be wary of the digital yuan, also known as the digital Renminbi RMB, noting the digital currency’s usage in international payments. He stated the situation as “a huge problem,” according to Reuters reporting. Future ADB president Asakawa …