Blockchain Asia | # 5
This time it's all about Japan
Competing with China
Japan’s central bank is accelerating its preparation for the issuance of a CBDC (central bank digital currency).
It recently joined a working group of six central banks and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). The announcement was made on January 21 on the BIS website.
The six central banks are:
The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the Sveriges Riksbank and the Swiss National Bank.
According to BIS’s press release, the group was created to “share experiences as they assess the potential cases for central bank digital currency (CBDC) in their home jurisdictions. The group will assess CBDC use cases; economic, functional and technical design choices, including cross-border interoperability; and the sharing of knowledge on emerging technologies.”
On January 30, at a seminar in Tokyo, Japan, the Bank of Japan’s Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya sent another clear signal to the public that, although Japan has no immediate plan to launch a CBDC, it is important for the BOJ to continue looking into the possibility of introducing a CBDC in Japan. See the Reuters report.
We believe that BOJ’s research on CBDC has gone well beyond Proof of Concept and, in fact, has reached the stages of tweaking, assessing risks and addressing/resolving specific questions.
The BOJ’s urgency in researching a CBDC comes from its neighbor China, which is already testing its own CBDC in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. The second city for the testing will be Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. Most people believe China is going to be the first country to launch CBDC.
LINE Beats Telegram and Facebook by offering its own token LINK
Japanese social media and messaging giant, with more than 80 million users in Japan and over 160 million users outside of Japan, LINE has developed its own public blockchain to support applications in music, animation and other audio/video products on its platform.
LINE launched its token LINK in 2018 without conducting an ICO but instead issued them as awards to users and developers within its ecosystem.
However, for unknown reasons, Japanese regulators are not allowing residents of Japan and the U.S. to trade LINK. LINE established the Bitbox Exchange in Singapore to allow non-Japanese and non-American users to trade their LINKs.
In September 2019, after jumping over numerous hurdles, LINE received an operating license from the Japanese Financial Service Agency (FSA) to run a crypto exchange. The cryptocurrencies they are permitted to trade on this exchange are Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP and LINE’s own token LINK.
Subsequent to this regulatory approval, on January 30, 2020, LINE announced on its website that it is preparing to launch the BITMAX Exchange (not to be confused with the BitMEX exchange), for Japanese residents only and it will be integrated with its messaging platform.
According to the instructions on LINE’s website, “to begin using BITMAX, users tap the BITMAX icon in the Wallet tab in the LINE app. Next, they are prompted to read through and accept the terms of use, register their personal information and complete the identity verification process. Users can start trading when LINE finishes verifying their identity.” The expected launch of BITMAX is April this year.
Might the social media giant LINE be faster to market in introducing its own tradable token than other social media giants such as Telegram and Facebook? It appears…yes!
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Blockchain Asia covers exclusively blockchain developments in Asia, including regulations, investments, new deals and company highlights. It is owned by Kee Global Advisors.