The Bank of Japan, the country's central bank, says the future of digital money shouldn't be reduced to a choice between central bank digital currencies, also known as CBDC, and stablecoins.
Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino called for a "holistic approach" in a May 16 speech at the Japan Society of Monetary Economics, Reuters reported.
- The U.S. is moving against a CBDC while promoting stablecoins as a way to support the dollar's global role.
- Europe, meanwhile, is pushing a digital euro to make retail payments less fragmented across the region.
Japan is trying to keep both options open and "prepared for both paths," Himino said, pointing to the country's stablecoin laws and the BOJ's CBDC pilot work.
BOJ tests blockchain payments between banks
The BOJ has already started testing one of those ideas. In early March, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said the central bank would launch sandbox experiments using blockchain to settle current account deposits, the reserves financial institutions hold at the BOJ.
Ueda also said the experiment would look at how blockchain systems could connect with existing infrastructure and be used in areas such as interbank settlement.