The Bank of Japan to launch its CBDC pilot before May

Japan, a country that has banned foreign stablecoins like USDT, plans to begin piloting a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in April 2023. It aims to test the ecosystem, including private companies.

17 February, Bank of Japan (BoJ) release Opening remarks by Managing Director Shinichi Uchida at the CBDC Committee. In it, Uchida announced that the bank had decided to launch a pilot program for the “digital yen” in April after completing a proof-of-concept test to begin in 2021.

The pilot test will continue work on the technical feasibility of the digital circle and extend the experiment to modeling the CBDC ecosystem with the participation of private companies. As the formula specifies, there will be no real retail trades during the pilot period, only simulated trades.

Uchida’s speech focused on future CBDC designs and the need to consult with the private sector on alternative data models, offline payment architectures, and other key elements of the system. A CBDC forum is created for this purpose.

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News about the CBDC pilot was highly anticipated, as local media reported the Bank of Japan’s intentions in November 2022. From these reports, it is known that at least three Japanese megabanks and regional banks will cooperate with the Bank of Japan.

Meanwhile, Japanese authorities are also considering lifting a ban on foreign stablecoins that will be enacted in 2022. Coins that pass individual checks will display a green light when automatically placed in the market.