Bitcoin and Fintech Isn’t a Threat to Fiat Currency, Says Bank of Japan Official

Bitcoin and Fintech Isn’t a Threat to Fiat Currency, Says Bank of Japan Official

A senior Bank of Japan (BoJ) official has stated that bitcoin and other Fintech innovation isn’t a threat to the fiat money central banks print. According to Hiromi Yamaoka, head of the BoJ’s payment and settlement systems department, central banks need to maintain the public’s trust. This is because the growth of FinTech provides people with a substitute to cash, reports Reuters. This year, Hiroshi Nakaso, the deputy governor of the BoJ, stated that central banks would have to watch the progress and developments relating to bitcoin and blockchain. In a speech, he stated that the financial....


Related News

Bank of Ghana Deputy Governor Says ‘Central Bank Digital Currency Is Fiat Mon...

Ghana’s proposed central bank digital currency is similar to fiat cash and therefore financial institutions, as well as fintech start-ups, can still create value based on it, a Bank of Ghana (BOG) official has said. Still, the official, Maxwell Opoku-Afari, the BOG’s deputy governor, says approval for the use of the digital currency will depend on the outcome of the piloting phase. Maintaining Ghana’s Lead As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, BOG announced it was in the advanced stages of introducing a digital currency. At the time, BOG governor, Ernest Addison....

Bank of Japan Dep Governor Talks Bitcoin, Fintech, Mt. Gox and Blockchain

The Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan, Hiroshi Nakaso, has revealed that there is no plan to issue digital currencies as a substitute for banknotes at the present time. Still, the official added the bank would “make utmost efforts” to understand and research blockchain technology, an innovation “born” with bitcoin in 2008, as stated by Nakaso. The Deputy Governor was speaking [PDF] at the University of Tokyo – Bank of Japan Joint Conference in Tokyo late last week. He opined that blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT) presents significant potential to affect “money” and....

Report: FinTech Slow to Take Off in Japan

FinTech is growing in Japan, but, unlike the rest of Asia, it’s doing so at a much slower pace. With the Asian market tapping into the industry, Japan is establishing itself as a late adopter, falling significantly behind. According to a report from Brink News, in 2014 Japanese FinTech investments amounted to only 0.4 percent; however, while that figure doubled in 2015, the total amount was just $142 million. And yet, while FinTech is certainly growing in the country, it appears the reason it hasn’t taken off so quickly is due to a strong bank-branch culture. The Data Market has found that....

Former Bank of Japan exec says Japan will need years to issue digital yen

A former Bank of Japan official is concerned about a digital yen triggering massive outflows from private bank deposits. Hiromi Yamaoka, former head of the payment and settlement systems department at the Bank of Japan, said that the country will likely need several years before it can issue a central bank digital currency.In a Nov. 17 Reuters interview, Yamaoka explained that the BoJ is concerned about a CBDC potentially triggering massive outflows from private bank deposits.Yamaoka, who now chairs a group of banks looking at building a common settlement infrastructure for digital....

Bank of Japan Will “Seriously Consider” Virtual Currency: Official

Blockchain technology, the underlying innovation behind digital currencies including bitcoin was under the spotlight during the 3rd Fintech Forum held by Japan’s central bank. The Bank of Japan’s Third Fintech Forum, saw officials from the central bank’s payments department admit that central banks around the world were researching the technology. According to a report by Nikkei, the hot topic of the day was blockchain technology with private banks and financial institutions reportedly showcasing mock-ups of potential blockchain applications during the event. In December, BOJ governor....