Japan’s central bank has examined the role of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in the current monetary system in a report released on Feb. 19. In the document, the bank describes the possible ways to implement a CBDC and the hypothetical consequences of different approaches. The report divides possible CBDCs in two categories, the first being those accessible to the general public in a form like banknotes, and the other as those limited for large-value settlements. The source of this categorization is attributed to the report released by the Bank for International Settlements in March 2018, which divided CBDCs in …

Japan’s second-largest bank by assets, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), has completed a proof-of-concept (PoC) using blockchain consortium R3’s Marco Polo trade finance platform. A press release confirmed the PoC completion on Feb. 18. SMBC, which is the only Japanese bank participating in Marco Polo, said it had partnered with Japanese multinational Mitsui & Co. to enhance efficiency in trade processes. “[The] PoC was conducted between SMBC and Mitsui & Co. which aims to improve productivity in its trade operations, by testing modules such as Receivable Finance and Payment Commitment (Payment Undertaking),” the release explained, adding: “SMBC expects to commercialize …

Japanese employment information services company Recruit Co., Ltd. has invested in a blockchain-focused company Beam Development Limited, according to an announcement published on Feb. 18. Per today’s press release, Recruit has invested in Israeli blockchain startup Beam Development Limited. The investment was made through Recruit’s $25 million fund called RSP Blockchain Tech Fund Pte. Ltd. The latter is focused on investing and acquiring shares in blockchain and cryptocurrency companies. Beam is a privacy-oriented crypto project that purportedly secures transactions by enabling transaction data to be verified by a specified third party. The announcement states that the Beam token prevents the …

The Japan Association of New Economy (JANE) has asked the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) to reduce the current tax rate for crypto trading income, Cointelegraph Japan reported on Feb. 14. Led by Hiroshi Mikitani, the CEO of Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, JANE has reportedly sent a proposal request to the country’s financial regulator asking them to tax crypto in compliance with progressive taxation instead of general taxation. According to the article, income from trading cryptocurrencies is currently taxed at 55 percent. Imposing progressive taxation on crypto gains intends to reduce the tax to 20 percent — the same rate …

Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) has officially announced it will launch a new blockchain-based payment system, according to a press release published on Feb. 12. The world’s fifth-largest bank is working on the project in partnership with United States content delivery network Akamai, with the aim to launch in H1 2020. Dubbed the “Global Open Network,” the platform aims to utilize MUFG’s payment industry reach to cement its standing in the increasingly competitive blockchain payments market. MUFG and Akamai had first announced a partnership in May of last year, issuing an outline of what would become the Global Open …

Japanese IT giant GMO Internet has confirmed that it plans to launch its yen-backed stablecoin GYEN this year, Cointelegraph Japan reported today, Feb. 12. The news was revealed during an earnings presentation to investors held today, after GMO released financial results for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2018. The firm’s founder and CEO, Masatoshi Kumagai, as well as chief financial officer, Masashi Yasuda, answered questions from attendees. Following a question about the firm’s previously announced stablecoin, one of the executive answered: “Regarding the plan to launch GYEN as announced last year, we plan to issue it in overseas this …

Japan’s financial regulator has released Q4 2018 data on the number of enquiries about cryptocurrencies, showing further declines. The Financial Services Agency’s (FSA) report was published today, Feb. 8. The FSA, which is responsible for overseeing the country’s crypto ecosystem, published the latest data on enquiries from September to the end of December 2018. The Japanese watchdog received 788 enquiries regarding virtual currencies, which is a little more than half as many as the 1,231 enquiries in Q3 2018. The report states that 235 cases, or 29 percent, involve general enquiries and questions, while 228 cases, or 28 percent, are …

Major global crypto exchange Huobi has reported a 100 percent growth in trading volume in 2018 over the 2017, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Feb. 7. The Singapore-headquartered company has reportedly expanded its staff from 400 employees in early 2018 to more than 1,300 people by 2019, with 15 offices in 12 countries and regions, as Huobi CEO Leon Li told Cointelegraph. Huobi’s over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk has reportedly become one of the most traded OTC platforms worldwide, while the recently launched service Huobi Cloud has managed to enter in more than 100 partnerships over six …

A new movement dubbed “GoxRising” is calling for a new, accelerated rehabilitation plan for creditors of the now-defunct Bitcoin (BTC) exchange Mt. Gox, with the long-term goal of rebooting the trading platform. The development was reported in an interview with its author, controversial industry figure Brock Pierce, by TechCrunch Feb. 7. As previously reported, roughly 24,000 creditors are thought to have been affected by Mt. Gox’s 2011 hack and subsequent collapse in early 2014, which resulted in the loss of 850,000 BTC valued at roughly $460 million at the time. Reimbursement of creditors is currently being handled under the stewardship …

The Wall Street Blockchain Alliance (WSBA) has joined blockchain consortium R3 to develop applications and solutions on their Corda platform, a Feb. 5 press release reports. According to a statement made by the CEO of R3, David E. Rutter, the WSBA and R3 will collaborate in order to “advocate a strategic approach to collaborating with regulatory bodies so that financial markets, and beyond can gain the full benefits of blockchain’s capabilities.” The WSBA is a non-profit trade association that promotes the general adoption of blockchain technology and crypto assets across international markets. R3, an enterprise blockchain software firm with over …

Multinational metal and oil mining giant BHP has successfully tested blockchain in a conjoint experiment with Japanese shipping company NYK, shipping news magazine Dry Bulk reports Tuesday, Feb. 5. Sustainable biofuel company GoodFuels provided its product for the experiment, while BLOC — a developer of blockchain applications for the maritime industry — built the decentralized ecosystem to trace it. During the trial, the GoodFuels biofuel was delivered to the BHP-chartered and NYK-owned bulk carrier Frontier Sky, while carbon dioxide (CO2) savings were verified via a blockchain fuels assurance platform. As explained by Dry Bulk, the sustainable biofuel used in the …

Bitcoin business incubator CoinLab has reportedly filed a 1.7 trillion JPY ($16 billion) claim against the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox, according to an alleged photo of the filing document posted on Reddit on Feb. 1. As Cointelegraph reported in its Mt. Gox recap in March last year, in 2013, CoinLab, a former business partner of the exchange, sued the company for $75 million, claiming breach of contract. The contract stipulated that CoinLab would take over the American customers of Mt. Gox, but it never happened. Photograph of alleged CoinLab Mt. Gox claim. Source: Reddit Some in the cryptocurrency community …