Major Japanese bank Resona will withdraw from Ripple-powered blockchain payment project MoneyTap on May 13, the bank announced on April 11. A subsidiary of Resona Group, the fifth largest banking group in Japan as of 2012, Resona Bank joined the project in October 2018, along with SBI Sumishin Net Bank and Suruga Bank. Launched on Oct. 3, MoneyTap payment service uses Ripple’s blockchain solution xCurrent, which claims to offer instant domestic bank-to-bank transfers. The project was co-developed by Japanese financial services giant SBI Holdings and blockchain firm Ripple, the firm behind XRP, the third top cryptocurrency by market cap. In …

Japanese finance regulator the Financial Services Agency (FSA) no longer wishes to describe Bitcoin (BTC) as a virtual currency, Cointelegraph Japan reported on April 8, quoting minutes of a meeting originally held on March 4. During a plenary session at the 41st General Assembly of the Financial Council and the 29th Financial Division Meeting, Professor Iwashita Goto of the Public Policy Graduate School of Kyoto University, petitioned members to adapt their view of Bitcoin. The largest cryptocurrency, he argued, has become something beyond a means of transacting, due to its borderless qualities, which have led it to appear throughout the …

Andy Pag, the founder and coordinator of Mt. Gox Legal (MGL) — the largest group of creditors of the now-defunct Bitcoin (BTC) exchange Mt. Gox — has quit his post and decided to sell his claim. Pag announced his decision in a letter posted to the MGL contributor forum on April 4. Mt. Gox Legal — a cooperative of over 1,000 creditors with claims reportedly totaling more than an estimated 125,000BTC (~$649 million at press time) — was formed to seek coordinated legal action to support Mt. Gox’s transition from bankruptcy proceedings to civil rehabilitation (CR). This transition, which formally …

Japanese bank holding and financial services company Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), the fifth largest bank in the world, is set to put its digital currency MUFG Coin into practical use later this year. The news was reported by Cointelegraph Japan on April 9. News of the planned rollout was revealed by the newly-appointed MUFG president Kanetsugu Mike in an interview with local media agency Asahi Shimbun, Cointelegraph Japan reports. MUFG is the largest financial company in Japan and is prospectively set to become the first Japanese bank to issue a virtual currency, specifically a blockchain-based stablecoin pegged 1:1 to …

G20 member countries will meet to discuss international cryptocurrency Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulation on June 8 and 9 in Fukuoka, Japan. The news was revealed in a report from local news outlet Kyodo on April 4. Per the report, and in accordance with official plans, G20 central bank governors and finance ministers will take part in the meeting. The event will be focused on establishing a framework to combat crypto-enabled money laundering and terrorism financing. Further, according to the Kyodo, it is expected that “it was revealed” on April 4 that the countries are expected to reach an agreement over …

Japanese crypto trading platform Liquid has hit unicorn status with the first close of an ongoing Series C funding that puts the company valuation at over $1 billion. The news was reported by Cointelegraph Japan on April 3. Liquid’s parent company is Quoine, a global fintech company licensed by Japan’s Financial Services Agency. As Cointelegraph Japan reports, the fresh funding and new valuation makes Liquid the country’s second unicorn in the tech startup space — the other being artificial intelligence firm Preferred Networks, which is backed by Toyota, Fanuc, Hitachi and others. The first close of Liquid’s Series C has …

Blockchain-based decentralized application (DApp) platform Tron pushed to remove gambling DApps in the Japanese market to comply with local regulations, according to a press release published on March 31. Per the statement, the company intends to adhere to local laws and regulations in the countries it works in. Therefore, the firm has decided to support gambling restrictions for Japan-based users through a series of recommendations for developers, as gambling is generally prohibited by the Japanese criminal code. In order to remove gamblings DApps from the Japanese market, Tron suggests that Japanese DApp developers not launch any such apps on the …

Disclaimer: this article previously stated that Coincheck’s new product was aimed at institutional clients. It has been updated for accuracy. Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck has launched a Bitcoin (BTC) over-the-counter trading desk for large-scale investors. Cointelegraph Japan reported the news on April 1. The Coincheck OTC trading desk will enable clients to directly trade large volumes of Bitcoin — starting from 50 BTC ($207,000 to press time) — between each other using a web interface hosted by Coincheck. Opening hours will be limited to weekdays 10:00-15:00 (JST) and overtime trading and use of the Coincheck app or API trading are …

Kazuhiro Tokita, representative director, board member and president at Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DeCurret, unveiled a new cryptocurrency payment system during a business presentation in Tokyo on March 27. Cointelegraph Japan reported on the presentation the same day. The new system would enable the Suica payment card issued by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Japan’s biggest railway company, to be topped-up with cryptocurrency. Still, the report points out that there are no concrete plans as of press time, and that JR East is only considering the implementation. Data released by the company shows that as of the end of …

Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten will launch its own cryptocurrency exchange, dubbed Rakuten Wallet, this June, Cointelegraph Japan reports today, March 29. As per the official announcement from Rakuten, the exchange will start accepting applications for opening accounts on April 15. Rakuten Wallet is set to go live in June. According to Rakuten, its trading platform will allow users to trade digital assets via a smartphone application. Opening an account will be free of charge and customers’ funds will be stored in a cold wallet, the press release notes. The company finally received regulatory approval from Japanese financial market regulator, the …

Mark Karpeles, former CEO of now-defunct Mt. Gox crypto exchange, has appealed his conviction on charges of manipulating data, The Associated Press (AP) reports on March 29. On March 15, Karpeles was acquitted of charges of embezzlement, but was found guilty of tampering with financial records, with the court stating that he manipulated data to harm his clients, betraying their trust and abusing his engineering skills. The Tokyo District Court reportedly found Karpeles guilty of combining his personal assets with those of the exchange in order to conceal the platform’s losses to hackers. Karpeles reportedly received a two and a …

Blockchain payment app MoneyTap, co-developed by Ripple and Japanese financial services giant SBI Holdings, has received investments from 13 local banks, according to an SBI press release published on March 28. In the announcement, SBI Holdings informs that Kiraboshi Bank, Shinsei Bank and Hokuriku Bank, along with ten other local financial institutions, have joined their project as shareholders. MoneyTap, which was designed to quickly transfer money via a mobile app using Ripple’s blockchain solution xCurrent, will reportedly receive investments from other Japanese financial institutions later this year. According to SBI Holdings, the banks using the solution are going to cooperate …