- Japan is not working on a central bank-backed digital currency.
- Several banks in Europe including the Bank of England are coming together to study central bank-issued digital currencies.
The finance minister in Japan, Aso says that the country has no plans of developing a central bank-backed digital currency. However, Aso acknowledged that many central banks around the world are currently studying the idea.
As the idea of central bank-issued digital currencies gains momentum led by China, other banks such as the Bank of England, European Central Bank, Bank of Canada and Sweden’s central bank have come together to collaborate in the research of the government-backed digital currencies.
Japan was mentioned among the above banks but the finance ministers appears to have cleared the air. The group of central banks is chaired by Benoît Cœuré, head of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub, and Jon Cunliffe, deputy governor of the Bank of England and chair of the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures at the BIS. It will look into areas such as emerging technologies, digital currencies use cases and currency design options among others.