Another major financial institution is joining the race to adopt the hottest trend in global banking these days. The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., the largest bank in Japan, is working on utilizing Blockchain technology to create its own 'coin'.
After reports surfaced in the Japanese media last week that the financial institution is going to release its cryptocurrency by next year, MUFG has now confirmed to the news agencies that it is testing the technology but that no specific details have been decided upon yet. The bank is expected to launch apps for mobile devices as well as ATMs (automated teller machines) that will support client access to the new offering by 2018.
Not much is known about the "MUFGCoin" that will eventually be released but it is believed to be pegged to the Japanese yen with an exchange rate of ¥1 per coin. If this pegging is true, it is more accurate to think about this service as a better method to transmit the value of yen electronically than a true fully pledged independent cryptocurrency.
While many banks, as well as insurance companies and many other types of firms, have revealed that they are testing blockchain technology to improve various aspects of their business - only a few claimed to be working on actual new "coins" or Cryptocurrencies . Those that made the most amount of media impact where Citigroup's "CitiCoin" and Goldman Sachs' “SETLcoin,” due to the Wall Street banks' global brand-name recognition and notoriety.
