Japan’s Mizuho Bank plans to issue its own stablecoin

Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group is planning to launch its own cryptocurrency in March, according to a report from Nikkei Asian Review. J-Coin is going to be a stablecoin with a fixed value of 1 Japanese Yen per unit. As a stablecoin, J-Coin's value won't fluctuate as wildly as other cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin or monero. The bank has the support of 60 regional domestic banks and is already being trialed. 

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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. Nikkei Asian Review reports retailers using J-Coin “will be charged fees significantly lower than for credit card services,” thus promoting this cashless payment type. The payment itself will be made with the use of QR codes.

Mizuho Financial Group is not the only Japanese firm exploring cryptocurrencies.  Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has previously announced that it was going to trial its own proprietary cryptocurrency, MUFG Coin.