Japan’s biggest financial conglomerate, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), will abandon its three-year-old blockchain payment project to focus on other digital and fintech initiatives. MUFG officially announced Tuesday the suspension of Global Open Network (GO-Net) Japan, a blockchain-based project aiming at high scalability and multi-connectivity data processing “in response to the rise of the internet of things.” The project was officially introduced back in February 2019, with MUFG joining forces with the United States content delivery network Akamai, planning to create a payment service featuring multiple functions like communication and “management of value through blockchain.” The initiative was first announced …

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan’s largest financial group, is working hard to take the lead in stablecoin development, launching a proprietary stablecoin project. On Wednesday, MUFG introduced its stablecoin platform called “Progmat Coin,” a blockchain-based system for issuing and managing stablecoins pegged on a 1:1 ratio to the Japanese yen. The platform aims to enable a “universal digital asset payment method,” providing cross-chain interoperability with a wide range of other digital assets other than those issued on Progmat, as well as Japan’s central bank digital currency, the digital yen. According to the announcement, the Progmat Coin project is based on …

Thailand's Bank of Ayudhya (BAY) — in which Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) holds a 76.9% stake — participated in the latest funding round for the Asia-Pacific-focused crypto exchange Zipmex. The $41 million raise, which saw the participation of two publicly traded Thai media firms and overseas venture capital (VC) funds — in addition to BAY — accounts for the lion’s share of Zipmex’s total $52 million in funds raised to date. BAY’s corporate venture capital arm, Krungsri Finnovate, invests in startups across various fintech areas, including blockchain, lending, e-commerce and cross-border remittance. Commenting on the news of the Zipmex …

Coinbase, the top crypto exchange in the U.S. has announced its official launch in Japan in partnership with banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). The firm led by CEO Brian Armstrong announced on Aug. 19 that it will first launch retail trading products including “a suite of five top assets based on trading volume,” with more assets and products to be listed in the coming months. “We also plan to introduce more localized versions of globally popular services such as advanced trading, Coinbase for Institutions, and more in the future,” The partnership with Tokyo-based MUFG will see the bank …

According to an Oct. 26 report by Japanese news agency The Nikkei, seven Japanese companies are preparing to invest in a new trade data management system. Reportedly developed by NTT Data, the platform uses blockchain technology to prevent malicious third-parties from tampering with recorded data. The platform is designed to manage receipts for exporting and importing companies and will also manage letters of credit issued by banks. The new service will also help to process other related documents handled by insurance and logistics companies. As reported, the participating companies include a major Japanese bank, MUFG Bank, Toyota Tsusho, Kanematsu, Sompo …

The metals and minerals resource trading subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation RtM Japan Ltd, has launched a blockchain platform named ECO for precious metals trading. Developed by Mitsubishi in partnership with the American blockchain company Skuchain, the platform is built on top of Skuchain’s EC3 platform for blockchain-based supply chain management and finance. According to the official announcement, ECO will ease metal trades between counterparties by generating, managing and executing invoices and trade confirmations. For the start, Mitsubishi will only bring its “most valued customers” on the platform but it plans to soon expand and implement ECO to cover …

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, or MUFGt, the fifth largest bank in the world, is reportedly planning to issue its own digital currency in the second half of 2020. Initiated back in 2015, the digital currency project was originally designed to run on a blockchain network and facilitate instant peer-to-peer transactions. Following multiple delays, the initiative is now scheduled to be rolled out no later than 2020, Cointelegraph Japan reports on July 13. “We think that everyone will be able to use it openly” Hironori Kamezawa, president and CEO at MUFG, announced the new plans on Monday to local news agency, …

California-based fintech company Figure Technologies has completed its $103 million funding round led by cryptocurrency asset manager Morgan Creek Digital. In conjunction with closing the Series C round, the blockchain-focused firm announced that Morgan Creek co-founder Anthony Pompliano had joined Figure’s board, according to a press release on Dec. 5. The news comes three days after Figure secured $58 million of the planned $103 million, according to its filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. According to the new announcement, Figure Technologies’ total funding now exceeds $225 million, while its valuation amounts to $1.2 billion. MUFG’s VC arm …

MUFG Bank, the largest bank in Japan and the world’s fifth-largest bank, has denied reports that it plans to launch a digital currency in Japan next year. In a statement on Dec. 4, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Bank (MUFG) said it had not decided whether a recent business partnership would ultimately form a digital currency entity. MUFG: digital currency claims unofficial Previously, various local English-language media outlets including Japan Times had reported that MUFG was eyeing a release date in the first half of 2020 for an as-yet-unnamed digital currency. “These reports are not based on any announcement made by …

The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) has joined blockchain software firm R3’s trade finance network, the Marco Polo Network. The American banking and financial services firm — which has over $1.9 trillion in assets under management — will conduct an evaluation program using the technology, Marco Polo announced Nov. 25. By joining Marco Polo, BNY Mellon intends to expand its technical expertise and explore how blockchain technology could be applied to its trade finance activities. The move is purportedly in line with BNY Mellon’s efforts to eliminate paper-based processes and digitize its business. Marco Polo is a consortium …

Securitize, a Coinbase-backed token issuance protocol, has raised $14 million in a funding round led by the venture capital (VC) wings of major commercial banks. The San Francisco-based startup has conducted an extension of its Series A round to continue developing its technology platform. According to a news release on Sept. 24, the three major investor banks were Santander’s VC arm Santander InnoVentures, Japanese investment group Nomura Holdings and MUFG Innovation Partners, a fully-owned VC subsidiary of Japan’s bank holding MUFG. The new investment round brings Securitize’s total financing up to $30 million after the company secured $12.75 million in …

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 …