The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has said that its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the digital yen, will not be used to help attain negative interest rates. The BoJ’s Executive Director, Shinichi Uchida made the announcement in his most recent public speech. “While the idea of using such a functionality as a means to achieve a negative interest rate is sometimes discussed in academia, the Bank will not introduce CBDC on this ground.” Japan initially adopted negative interest rates in 2016 in an attempt to combat decades of deflation by encouraging borrowing and spending. Negative interest rates are only used …

The internet is filled with Bitcoin (BTC) price forecasts. For example, some analysts believe that the flagship crypto will hit $1 million per coin in the next 10 years, while others think BTC price will eventually drop to zero. Without dwelling on predictions that are five or more years ahead of us, let us focus on what Bitcoin could do, say, in the next six months? Again, the forecasts vary drastically. For instance, Antoni Trenchev, the founder of Nexo Finance, sees Bitcoin price hitting $100,000 by mid-2022. On the other end of the spectrum is Sussex University professor Carol Alexander, …

A consortium of roughly 70 Japanese companies, including the country’s biggest financial institutions, have joined forces to trial and launch a new yen-based digital currency in fiscal 2022, sending a strong signal that the private sector was embracing blockchain-based payment systems. The new digital currency, dubbed “DCJPY,” will be backstopped by bank deposits and rely on a common platform to expedite large fund transfers and settlements among the participating companies, according to Kazuhiro Tokia, the chief executive of cryptocurrency exchange DeCurret. DeCurret is leading the consortium, which includes banks Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial …

New York has given the first authorization to a stablecoin backed by the Japanese yen to operate in the United States. Per a Tuesday announcement, the New York Department of Financial Services has granted Japanese firm GMO-Z.com a charter to handle U.S.-dollar and yen-backed stablecoins in New York. Given New York's status as a global center, the NYDFS is the most prominent state financial regulator in the United States — it is also one of the most aggressive. A pass to operate in New York often opens up the rest of the country. GMO's charter is as a limited liability …

Bitcoin being regarded as “sound money” is a common refrain among many proponents of the popular cryptocurrency. With a finite supply of 21 million and a network secured by over 120 exahashes per second of computing power, the consensus among industry commentators has often leaned toward it becoming a global monetary superpower. Barely a decade into its existence, Bitcoin’s inferred value is already the 11th-largest global monetary base. Earlier in November, Bitcoin became larger than the Russian ruble for the first time in history. While fiat currencies buckle under economic strain exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, Bitcoin (BTC) has continued …

Line, a Tokyo-based subsidiary of the South Korean internet search engine company Naver, is building a platform for developing central bank digital currencies, South Korean news agency the Chosun Ilbo reported on Oct. 19. Sources familiar with the matter reportedly told Chosun Ilbo that Line aims to support the development of a so-called “customized CBDC.” The messaging company is discussing the application of its blockchain-based CBDC platform with several central banks in major Asian countries, according to the report. Line executives said that they cannot disclose the exact countries that are considering the platform’s application. A Line spokesperson told Cointelegraph …

OKCoin, one of the oldest exchanges in China, is continuing its crypto exchange business expansion, announcing on March 30 that it has officially secured licensing in Japan. OKCoin has been anticipating this day Per its announcement, OKCoin Japan has completed its registration with the Kanto Local Finance Bureau. According to the firm, this makes OKCoin the first international exchange to obtain a cryptocurrency exchange license through the official application procedure in Japan. OKCoin Japan said that ever since its establishment in September in 2017, it has been preparing itself to be in a position to achieve a business framework that …

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 …