Japan’s MUFG developing its own digital currency
(3 February 2016 – Japan) Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFG) is in the process of developing its own digital currency called MUFG coin.
Japan’s largest bank started the trial for the virtual currency last year and the smartphone application prototype that goes in tandem with the currency is also close to completion, reports Japanese newspaper, the Asahi Shimbun.
MUFG initiated the project to reduce costs and increase savings from lowered financial transactional costs including cheaper international remittance and money transfers.
According to the publication, the currency is currently being seen as an in-house tender. However, the bank also sees potential for its digital currency to be issued to customers in the future.
The MUFG coin will rely on a Person-to-person (P2P) platform that makes use of a smartphone application to authenticate digital tokens.
According to the report, MUFG coin takes advantage of the new technology that is on a network of multiple smaller computers. It is possible to cheaply build a tamper-resistant transaction record of the ledger, otherwise referred to as the “blockchain.”
The bank has previously been link to other blockchain technology projects, namely as one of 42 global banks in the R3-led private blockchain consortium. The global cooperation, led by a New York based technology firm is one of the most high profile attempts by the banking and financial industry to study and explore the viability of blockchain products.
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