The banking arm of Japanese financial giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) is planning to test its own cryptocurrency as early as 2019, CoinTelegraph reported referring to a report from local news outlet NHK.
The reports of MUFG exploring its own digital currency have been doing rounds in the media for over two years. According to NHK, MUFG is reportedly planning a large-scale trial involving nearly 100,000 account holders.
Users would be able to use the digital token to make payments at restaurants, convenience stores and other shops, as well as make transfers to the accounts of other participants. The exchange rate of one MUFG coin will be equal to one yen.
According to CoinSpeaker, the bank is currently in the process of teaming up with companies to create the testing pool. It plans to gradually increase the number of businesses accepting MUFG Coin.
In August 2017, MUFG joined UBS’ “Utility Settlement Coin” consortium project, which aims to create a blockchain-based digital currency for clearing and settling financial transactions.
Last year, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ joined Ripple’s interbank group Global Payments Steering Group (GPSG). More recently, MUFG Bank and its Thai subsidiary Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri), along with Mitsubishi Corporation, Standard Chartered Bank, announced a pilot test for moving real funds over RippleNet – Ripple’s enterprise blockchain network.
