Bank of Japan to Launch Long-Awaited CBDC Pilot in April

The Bank of Japan has announced it will launch its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot, the digital yen, in April. It joins a roster of Asian countries issuing CBDCs.

CBDCs have been rising in popularity for the past few years. The popularity has increased to a level that the crypto-skeptic economist Nouriel Roubini believes that CBDCs might challenge the dominance of the U.S. dollar.

Japan becomes the latest country to join the fray, announcing today its digital yen pilot program.

CBDC Program to Be Tested by Private Businesses

Uchida Shinichi, the Executive Director of the BoJ, announced the launch of the digital yen pilot program at the Fifth Meeting of the Liaison and Coordination Committee on CBDC.

The central bank started working on building a foundation for CBDC in its Proof of Concept (PoC) Phase one in April 2021. The BoJ began PoC Phase 2 in April 2022, when they tested technical feasibility and performance. Finally, after PoC testing, the bank has decided to launch the pilot in April.

Shinichi says, “The aim of the pilot program is twofold: first, to test the technical feasibility not fully covered by the PoCs, and second, to utilize the skills and insights of private businesses in terms of technology and operation for designing a CBDC ecosystem in the possible event of social implementation.”

Japan is not issuing CBDC for retailers presently, it will just test the settlement through simulated transactions. Japan previously banned foreign stablecoins like USDC and USDT, but it is expected to lift the ban in 2023.

Asian countries like China and India have already launched their CBDCs. The People’s Bank of China said in January that its pilot program for digital yuan is up and running. China’s neighbor, India, started its retail pilot of the digital rupee last December.

Got something to say about Japan CBDC or anything else? Write to us or join the discussion on our Telegram channel. You can also catch us on TikTok, Facebook, or Twitter.

For BeInCrypto’s latest Bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here.

Disclaimer

BeInCrypto has reached out to company or individual involved in the story to get an official statement about the recent developments, but it has yet to hear back.

Bookmark (0)

Related Posts

‘Withdrawals are coming!’ — Ethereum devs confirm epoch for Shapella fork

Shapella will take effect at epoch 194,048, which is scheduled for 10:27:35pm UTC on April 12.

Bookmark (0)

Time to buy ‘jpegs’? Community responds to upcoming Ethereum withdrawals

While many expressed serious sentiments, a Twitter user poked fun at the update, saying it’s time to spend ETH on nonfungible tokens.

Bookmark (0)

BitKeep completes compensation for $8M APK exploit, announces rebranding

BitKeep Wallet will now be known as Bitget Wallet following a $30 million investment from the namesake crypto derivatives exchange last week.

Bookmark (0)

SEC chief Gary Gensler to face Congress grilling over crypto policy

The chair of the Financial Services Committee said its primary focus would be setting the groundwork for crypto regulations in the United States.

Bookmark (0)

Banking Crisis Is a Wake-Up Call to Buy Bitcoin, Says Tim Draper

The banking crisis of early 2023 has been the largest since the financial meltdown of 2008.
Tim Draper, known for his well-placed investments in Coinbase, Twitch, Hotmail, Tesla, and Coinbase, sees a lesson in the crisis.
“I think the SVB failure was a wake-up call for the people who have been reluctant to buy Bitcoin,” Draper told BeInCrypto.

Bookmark (0)

Layer 2 Solutions for a Scalable Crypto Future

Understanding the scalability challenge facing traditional blockchain networks.
Exploring the benefits and functionality of Layer 2 solutions, such as Bitcoin’s Lightning Network and Ethereum’s Optimistic Rollups.
Learning about the challenges and opportunities for further Layer 2 solutions in the blockchain industry.

Bookmark (0)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *