According to latest reports, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. is on its course to become the world’s first major bank to issue a digital currency. Called “MUFG Coin”, it is expected to be available in autumn 2017, The Asahi Shimbun reported.

The news about MUFG Coin first floated in the media earlier this year when it was reported that MUFG has developed its own digital currency as part of its research into blockchain and distributed ledger technology.

The digital currency system has been so designed that users will be able to withdraw money from their bank accounts into an app on their smartphones. The money will be converted into MUFG coins at a rate of 1 MUFG coin to 1 yen. The Asahi Shimbun reported that the bank is also developing an ATM that will enable users to withdraw the MUFG coins into their smartphones. The ATM is expected to be operational in spring 2018 and will also allow users to convert MUFG coins into cash.

However, speaking with CoinDesk, bank representatives seem to be distancing themselves from these reports. In fact, representatives from MUFG refuted the original Asahi Shimbun report published in February, saying that the so-called MUFG coin project did not exist.

A spokesperson told CoinDesk that the bank is still weighing how it might move its blockchain technology experiments forward, and has yet to decide what the MUFG coin will be or whether it will be released.