Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 18 January 2018
Quickly following on from Tuesday’s (16 January) blockchain and Bitcoin round-up, here are some more frantic antics. Features Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Jibrel Network, Yes Bank and HashCash.
In Japan, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) plans to open a new exchange to issue its own virtual currency “MUFG coin”, according to Mainichi. By controlling the exchange, the bank intends to control “fluctuations in the price of coins so that they can be used for settlement and remittance stably”. The coins will be used for payments between users or shopping at affiliated stores through smartphone apps. The bank intends to stabilise the price to 1 MUFG coin = 1 yen to “get users to use coins with confidence”. It’s not a done deal yet, as to establish such an exchange it must register with the Financial Services Agency in Japan.
MUFG’s interest in this space is well known. Other developments include being part of a group of organisations that partnered with IBM on a blockchain-based shared know your customer (KYC) proof of concept. In addition, last year, Fujitsu said it will work with Mizuho Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and MUFG to conduct a joint field trial of a person-to-person (P2P) money transfer service using blockchain. And don’t forget it’s part of the UBS-led effort to create a digital cash model for payments and settlement on blockchain.
Switzerland-based Jibrel Network has launched jCash, its first release of tokenised financial assets, providing fiat currencies in the form of ERC-20 tokens. The first roll-out will include USD and KRW. By tokenising traditional financial assets, Jibrel Network says it aims to “combine the efficiency of blockchain technology with existing financial regulations and real-world rules”.
jCash is a CryDR (cryptodepository receipt), which has “smart regulation built-in through code, meaning that real-world rules and regulations are translated into solidity code and deployed immutably on the Ethereum blockchain”.
Moving back to Asia, Yes Bank in India is working with California-based HashCash for cross-border corporate payments on the latter’s blockchain network, HC Net. It will do the same old stuff – make “tracking and sharing documents among counterparties easy and eliminates paperwork”.
Yes Bank says it has been experimenting with blockchain “since its inception”. Last year, the bank said it implemented a blockchain-based solution for consumer electrical company Bajaj Electricals for supply chain management.
