While many other regions in Asia have taken a hardline stance on bitcoin, its adoption and the role of cryptocurrency when used against the backdrop of a traditional fiat system, Japan has been remarkably accommodating.
Policymakers in the nation officially legalized bitcoin as a transaction tokenback at the start of April this year and essentially kicked off a discussion about legalization in a range of other nations globally – Australia, Switzerland, the UK, and more.
This week, Japan has taken yet another step towards adoption and integration of cryptocurrency – well, sort of. The step is not yet taken but, just as was the case with the blanket legalization, just talking about it is likely going to prove enough to make other countries sit up and take notice.
We're talking about J-Coin.
This would be a cryptocurrency that is set up by the major financial institutions in Japan (so, retail banks, primarily) and that would eliminate the need for cash transactions between banks. It's a remarkably neat solution to a problem that all countries have right now and it's yet another real world implementation of blockchain technology that could pave the way for mainstream adoption.
Right now, banks have to monitor cash flow between one another. This is costly, time consuming and is prone to error.
The idea behind J-Coin is that, instead of transferring physical cash from bank to bank, all that would need transferring is J-Coin. Each J-Coin would have a fixed 1:1 exchange ratio with the Japanese Yen.
When looked at from high concept level, it's nothing more than an accounting tool. With that said, it's a 100% accurate, risk-free, error-free and completely transparent accounting tool that saves time and money for all involved. What more can financial institutions ask for from application of the blockchain to their operations?
Reports are that the goal is to have the system in place by the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020.