The Bank Of Japan To Launch Its CBDC Pilot Before May

The Bank of Japan has announced that it will launch its pilot program for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital yen, in April 2023 after completing its proof of concept tests that began in 2021. 

iexclusivenews reports that this program will involve the participation of private businesses and will test an ecosystem for a digital yen.

Japan is also planning to host a conference in April focused on the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

“We plan to develop a system for experiments,” Bank of Japan (BoJ) Executive Director Shinichi Uchida said in remarks during the fifth meeting of the BoJ Liaison and Coordination Committee on Central Bank Digital Currency.

What You Should Know

“The aim of the pilot program is twofold: first, to test the technical feasibility…and second, to utilize the skills and insights of private businesses in terms of technology. And operation for designing a CBDC ecosystem in the possible event of social

Uchida’s speech focuses on the design of the future CBDC and the need to consult with the private sector on alternative data models. Architectures for offline payments and other vital elements of the system. For this kind of consultation, the CBDC forum will be created.

The ban on foreign stablecoins will be lifted in June 2023, but they will not be allowed into the market automatically.

While they won’t let any foreign stablecoin into the market automatically, the green light will be shown to those coins, which successfully passed individual checks.

“At present, the pilot is not expected to see any actual transactions between retailers and consumers, the bank said. While adding that it will establish a CBDC Forum and invite private businesses engaged in retail payments or in related technologies to participate.

However, iexclusivenews Nigeria reports that the goal of the pilot program is to make the currency more accessible and flexible for use in the private sector.