Japanese Consortium Unveils Plans for New Digital Currency

• Japanese financial group DeCurret Holdings is planning to launch the DCJPY digital currency project in 2024.
• DCJPY will be backed 1:1 by bank deposits in Japanese yen, as detailed in DeCurret’s white paper.
• The network will comprise a financial zone for issuance by member institutions and a business zone.

Japanese financial group DeCurret Holdings published details this week regarding its upcoming DCJPY digital currency project. Slated for launch in 2024, the initiative looks to introduce a new privately-issued crypto asset.

According to DeCurret’s white paper, DCJPY will be backed 1:1 by bank deposits in Japanese yen. The network will consist of a financial zone for issuance by member institutions and a business zone for transactions and additional token activities.

DCJPY aims to launch in 2024 amid central bank digital currency research

DCJPY’s creation will be powered by a consortium of over 70 Japanese companies. Lead issuer Aozora Bank will mint the tokens based on yen deposits within its reserves.

The project emerges while the Bank of Japan researches a potential central bank digital currency (CBDC), which it will decide on rolling out by 2026. The DCJPY appears to be aimed at preempting the central bank’s own digital currency plans.

Additionally, other players like Binance and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group have explored issuing yen-pegged stablecoins in Japan. This further crowds the field for privately created Yen digital assets.

DeCurret is holding an invite-only seminar to explain DCJPY’s mechanics and intended utility in greater depth. The firm is backed by an array of prominent Japanese corporations, including Japan Post Bank and advertising giant Dentsu Group.

With multiple overlapping initiatives vying to tokenize the yen, Japan’s cryptocurrency industry risks fragmentation that sows confusion. But DeCurret emphasizes its consortium model unifies stakeholders behind DCJPY.

However, the Bank of Japan could still render private efforts redundant should it launch its own CBDC. This uncertainty may limit DCJPY’s traction among consumers and businesses hesitant to adopt a temporary standard.