Japanese financial giant Mizuho set to launch its crypto next month

The Block • February 24, 2019, 2:28PM EST

UPDATED: February 24, 2019, 4:39PM EST

Mizuho Financial Group, the Japanese financial giant, will soon launch its new crypto, according to CoinTelegraph.

The firm is partnering with approximately 60 financial firms on the launch of its so-called "J-Coin." As part of the new initiative, Mizuho and other banks will link existing bank accounts to new J-Coin wallets. As per Nikkei Asian Review, the platform will launch March 1.

J-Coin will provide a cashless mode of transactions; you’ll be able to use your smartphone to pay for goods. A mobile phone with a downloaded dedicated app will be all that’s needed to make a payment with the new stablecoin.

To start, Mizuho is working on connecting a number of merchants to the platform including FamilyMart, an electronic retailer, and a Japanese railway firm, CoinTelegraph reported. Crypto is heating up in Japan, according to The Block's sources. Elsewhere, Line — one of the top messenger apps in the country — has partnered with brokerage giant Nomura Holdings to form a blockchain alliance group. It launched its own native crypto last year.

"Japan has an interesting story," Phillip Gillespie, who runs B2C2 Japan, a market making firm, told The Block."Guys are coming in, getting their licenses, and Japan is coming back."

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Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].