Japan is all set to get yet another Yen-Backed stablecoin, this time via the Mizuho, the banking giant. Reports from the Nikkei Asian Review point out that this new stablecoin, named J-Coin, is all set to come out on the 1st of March. Given that Mizuho is already an established name in banking, the company will have an immediate advantage of being able to link existing bank accounts with J-Coin wallets.
For those who may be unaware, Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group is among the biggest names in the world of finance and banking in Japan. The company holds assets of over $1.8 Trillion. The company has tied up with a number of other financial institutions as well - providing 56 Million of their users with J-Coin digital wallets to start off with.
The J-Coin stablecoin has been pegged to the Japanese Yen. This means that the price of the 1 J-Coin will always be equal to 1 Japanese Yen. Furthermore, the company has stated that all transfers from the bank accounts to the J-Coin wallets are going to be free of cost. This is going to be another major incentive that can motivate users towards using J-Coin stablecoins.
[Recommended Reading: Everything that you want to know about Stablecoins]
In another major move that is going to help increase the adoption of the J-Coins, the company is also going to launch a J-Coin Pay application soon. This will allow the holders of the J-Coin to easily make retail payments with the stablecoins. Mizuho is also looking forward to get some retail partners on board. Reports from Japan indicate that Mizuho is currently in talks with FamilyMart and Bic Camera, as well as East Japan Railway. Commenting on the J-Coin and associated developments, Mizuho CEO Tatsufumi Sakai said:
“the arrival of all these new entrants [into the digital payments space] is eroding the common-sense notion that payment services are provided by financial institutions."
With so many corporate and retail tie-ups, it appears that Mizuho intends to release the J-Coin as one of the most easy-to-use and mainstream cryptocurrencies available to the users. Given its strength in numbers even before the launch, the J-Coin might just become one of the most successful stablecoin innovations. Mizuho had announced their plan to launch a stablecoin in December 2018.
Interestingly, up until last year, there were no major Yen-backed stablecoins. However, now there are two major names about to launch their stablecoins - the GMO backed GYEN and Mizuho’s J-Coin. Further LINE, the popular chat application, also has its own blockchain and cryptocurrency! The Line Pay system is an established method of crypto payments, already being accepted in over 1.3 Million stores across Japan.
Given that cryptocurrency markets are going through a major downtrend and a strong bullish momentum, stablecoins have become one of the most preferred forms of digital assets of late. Stay tuned with us at Cryptoground for all the latest news stories and updates from the world of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology.