Bitcoin isn’t exactly a perfect cryptocurrency. There are many issues surrounding the digital currency from transaction fees to slow transactions. In fact, Bitcoin was only ranked 13th by the Chinese IT ministry. And for this reason, there’s so much room for altcoins to become popular. In fact, mass adoption is something that many digital currencies strive for. In reality, a cryptocurrency’s mass adoption can help cryptocurrencies gain popularity.
Altcoins such as Litecoin is now gaining traction among businesses. Litecoin recently launched a campaign on Twitter with a goal to boost mass adoption of the cryptocurrency. Its goal is to attract not only big businesses but also small and medium-sized entrepreneurs.
But it isn’t just Litecoin that is looking to get adopted. Ripple is another cryptocurrency that is a strong contender among altcoins. Recently, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, one of the top five banks in the world is now looking to test proprietary cryptocurrency by 2019.
MUFG has a total of $2.5 trillion in assets. It is also the second in the world as a holding company, not to mention it is the largest financial group in Japan.
The plan is to roll out the coin to a few customers at first. Hopefully, this catches up and become a practice for retail purchases.
MUFG Coin
MUFG Coin by 2019 will be released to 100,000 users. Their hope is for this coin to be used for everything from clothing to food. Their partner will be Ripple. The plan is to also achieve faster and cheaper international payments.
Users will have to download an app and convert the fiat deposits. The token is designed for parity with Japanese yen. The main reason behind this project three years ago is to bring down the transaction fees as well as the cost of transfers.
The bank participated in a private consortium, R3, that may have fueled their motivation to take part in the crypto market. There are dozens of international banks that have collaborated during that time to study the possibility of using crypto-related solutions. Close to 12 banks tested blockchain technology using Ethereum via Azure.
Is It Really Better Than Bitcoin?
Noboyuki Hirano who is the MUFG president mentioned that they are planning to “overcome issues of virtual currencies and create highly useful currency”. This statement means that the bank is already monitoring different cryptocurrencies. Also, the company is already aware of Bitcoin considering its popularity in Japan.
MUFG is also trying to get more banks on board their digital endeavors. Mizuho bank crypto is also planning to roll out J-Coin which is going to be released during the Tokyo Olympic Games by 2020.
There are also efforts from non-bank entities such as Yahoo! Japan and DMM entering the crypto market.
Japan is known for its welcoming policies when it comes to cryptocurrencies. Despite new rules are implemented on crypto exchanges in the country to avoid another Coincheck problem, it is no denying that crypto use in the country is growing. And with the participation of banks, things are looking bright for Japan’s crypto market.
