Japan Biggest Financial Banking Firm to Launch Its Cryptocurrency In Second-Half of 2020

Japan’s biggest financial lender - Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) - is all set to launch its own digital currency in the second-half of this year. The financial giant said that it plans to launch its native cryptocurrency “MUFG Coin” in partnership with HR firm Recruit Holdings.

Citing MUFG President Hironori Kamezawa, Japan’s local news publication Mainichi Shimbun said that the company will roll-out its digital token via an smartphone application for all the member companies that are listed with Recruit.

Recruit wants to leverage the potential benefits of a digital currency and offer a borderless shopping experience to its 1 million customers. The platform current offers several online and offline services for housing, travel, restaurants, beauty, etc.

The use of the MUFG Coin will allow the customers to purchase different goods and services from convenience stores, restaurants, and other shops. Furthermore, it will also allow Recruit customers to make transfers to the accounts of other participants.

The Japanese banking giant had been since long planning the launch of its MUFG Coin in the market. As per the previous plans, MUFG would launch its digital currency for use among enterprises as well as white label the technology as its own offering.

Now the world’s fifth-largest bank by assets plan to use the new coin in a mobile payments business. This coin initiative will also explore different applications wherein the exchange of one MUFG will be equal to one Digital Yen.

Additionally, the banking is also working out other ways to leverage its underlying blockchain technology and the tokenized digital currency across its other banking services.

As part of its plans, the MUFG bank also poured $14 million investment in a San Francisco-based startup - Securitize - that helps other companies to tokenize their assets and securities.

In its another project, the bank’s securities subsidiary - MUFG Securities - is working very closely with Ripple’s Global Payments Steering Group (GPSG). This allows the bank to move real funds worldwide and instantly using Ripple’s enterprise blockchain platform RippleNet.

Japan has been steering its way with respect to digital currency developments. The country’s central bank - Bank of Japan - recently added that it will soon start testing its central bank digital currency (CBDC) - the Digital Yen.