Bank of Japan plans to build blockchain currency exchange

Rage Comment : Japanese banks have always paid close attention to the development of blockchain technology. In terms of the development of underlying technology, blockchain startup Ripple has the closest cooperation with Japanese financial institutions. Ripple is also the second blockchain company to obtain a digital currency license issued by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). This month, a group of Japanese financial institutions formed an alliance to jointly develop a blockchain-based exchange platform with Ripple to reduce the service costs of domestic and foreign exchanges. These include financial institutions commonly seen in the blockchain field, such as Yokohama Bank and SBI Sumishin Net Bank.

Translation: Annie_Xu

A group of Japanese financial institutions was recently established to build a blockchain-based platform to reduce the cost of domestic and foreign exchange services.

On the 19th of this month, the financial institution group announced a partial list of members, including Bank of Yokohama and SBI Sumishin Net Bank (an online bank jointly established by SBI Holdings and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank). The group members will work with distributed ledger technology startup Ripple to develop a blockchain-based platform.

SBI Holdings, owner of SBI Sumishin Net Bank, which has invested in startups in related technology fields, said it plans to formally launch the initiative in October, with the participation of 15 financial institutions.

“While Yokohama Bank and SBI Sumishin Net Bank are accelerating various internet finance initiatives, starting in October 2016, the alliance will begin considering new payment and settlement services based on blockchain technology.”

The platform is scheduled to be launched in March 2017, and organizers hope to attract at least 30 bank users by then.

SBI Holdings and its subsidiary jointly established with Ripple will lead the implementation of the project.

Although it is not yet certain whether other Japanese banks will join the alliance, Japan's financial industry has shown great interest in blockchain technology.

Rumors of banks issuing digital currencies have long surrounded Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG); in April this year, MUFG, one of Japan’s largest banks, announced a partnership with blockchain startup Chain to develop a proof of concept.

Last year, Japan also established a working group dedicated to studying use cases in the financial industry.