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Japan mints its own digital currencyINTL

Japan mints its own digital currency

It looks like Japan’s central bank is feeling risky! It has pulled the trigger on experiments that will determine how viable it will be to issue its own digital currency. The first trials, which are designed to assess the feasibility of all the logistics surrounding the central bank digital currency nicknamed CBDC, will continue until March 2022. Following this, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will move on to a more judicious second phase.

BOJ must be keen to develop its own digital currencies because, at the moment, cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and largely unregulated. Though, it’s got to move fast in order to catch up with the private sector and all the up-and-coming Crypto/FinTech players.

why it matters
Advocates for CBDC claim that they can make international transactions easier and promote financial inclusion through digital currency. The BOJ joins a series of other central banks trying to play with the cool kids by coming up with their own digital currencies — others include the People's Bank of China and the Central Bank of the Bahamas.