Mizuho Financial Group in Japan is allegedly planning to release its own form of crypto in 2019. The coin will be paired with the Japanese yen, which will place it in the growing “stable coin” category.
Stable coins are designed to give investors interested in the cryptocurrency space a little peace of mind. One of the biggest problems plaguing the crypto space is volatility. Payment coins like bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin are prone to wild price swings that can work either for or against an investor. On one hand, individuals who invest their money in crypto could potentially see massive growth in short periods of time, as they did in 2017.
How Stable Crypto Lessens Concern
However, the opposite also holds true. 2018 has seen consistent price drops amongst these and other competing cryptocurrencies that have seen virtually all returns from the 12 months year vanish into thin air.
Stable coins are currencies tied to fiat currencies like USD, the yen or the euro, thereby giving the assets more stability. As the fiat currencies do not lose their value, neither do the cryptocurrencies. Each stable coin is worth one unit of whatever fiat currency it’s tied to, so if a coin is tied to the U.S. dollar, that coin is worth exactly one dollar.
Mizuho’s new coin will be used to make transfers and payments through the company’s new mobile phone application. At press time, the currency does not have a name, though it will first be offered to both regional banks and retail shops for an undefined period of testing. The coin will give these establishments and their customers the same transfer and payment benefits one experiences with a credit card, but at considerably lesser prices.
During the initial testing phase, customers and businesses that use the coin will not be charged any fees on cryptocurrency transactions, and all transfers taking place between one’s phone and their bank accounts or with other users will be free.
Meandering Through the Crypto Space
Mizuho says it has been exploring the digital currency space for several years. The firm is presently involved in what’s known as the J-Coin Project, which began in 2017. It consists of several Japanese banks and presently has support from both the Financial Services Agency (FSA) and the country’s central bank.
The coin is scheduled for live release in March 2019 and can be converted into yen on a one-to-one basis, meaning one coin will be equal to one yen.
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