Japanese financial services giant SBI Group has partnered with a blockchain security startup to develop a digital wallet for its recently launched cryptorrency exchange. The Denmark-based startup, Sepior, announced in a press release Monday that SBI has licensed its proprietary “threshold signature” wallet technology for integration with its VCTRADE exchange to secure “on-line contents and transactions.” VCTRADE was launched in […]

Masayoshi Amamiya, Bank of Japan’s Deputy Governor, stated on Saturday that it was unclear whether digital currencies could enhance the monetary policies of central banks.  He elaborated that the Bank of Japan had no plans whatsoever to issue a cryptocurrency. Ongoing Debate Mr. Amamiya said that there was “quite a hurdle” for cryptocurrencies to overcome […]

The U.S. tech giant Google is set to update its ad policy in October, reallowing some crypto businesses to advertise on its platform. The company announced this in an official post Tuesday, September 25. According to the official announcement, starting in October Google will allow registered cryptocurrency exchanges to advertise on its Google Adwords platform, targeting the U.S. and […]

TOKYO  – Japanese cryptocurrency firm Tech Bureau Corp said about $60 million in digital currencies were stolen from its exchange, highlighting the industry’s vulnerability despite recent efforts by authorities to make it more secure. Tech Bureau, which had already been slapped with two business improvement orders by regulators this year, said its Zaif exchange was […]

The Philippines, Thailand, and South Korea are moving towards creating the next crypto valley, after recognizing the success of Malta and Zug, Switzerland in creating crypto and blockchain friendly environments. Most countries in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and Thailand, have cracked down on crypto trading and blockchain-related developments over the past year. A few months […]

By Laura Desmond The new head of Japan’s primary financial regulator has backed the domestic cryptocurrency sector to grow while ruling out ‘excessive’ regulation for exchanges. In statements certain to encourage the domestic cryptocurrency sector, Toshihide Endo, the newly appointed commissioner of Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA), told Reuters that the authority is aiming to […]

A group of Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges have formally submitted a detailed proposal to form a self-regulatory organization to the nation’s Financial Services Agency (FSA). The Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA), which was formed by 16 exchanges in March and registered with the FSA in April, has applied to become a “certified fund settlement business […]

  Multinational conglomerate, Hitachi Ltd, and telecommunications operator, KDDI Corporation, have disclosed they are testing a blockchain solution that will see the biometric features of shoppers being used for authentication prior to settling retail payments. Initially, the coupon settlement system will be trialed at KDDI retail stores located in Tokyo and fast food outlets of the […]

Seiko Noda, Japan’s internal affairs minister, denied having an interest in a cryptocurrency company under investigation and interfering in that investigation, according to a report in Asahi Shimbun. As a Cabinet minister, Noda could be accused of trying to influence a government investigation. Noda acknowledged that one of her aides was present at a meeting on Jan. 30 […]

By Millenia Miller The world’s fourth-largest telecoms provider, Japan’s Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT), has filed a patent for using blockchain tech for contract agreement, according to a U.S. Trademark and Patent Office (USPTO) release on July 19. NTT’s patent application writes that a problem with contracts on blockchain is that each transactions “contains only the electronic signature of the sender” as […]