Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group

MUFG Coin From Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Designed To Capitalize On Transaction Data
The path to tapping into an emerging data market might be cobbled with blockchain-based currencies.
By Jeremy Nation
October 20, 2017 ETHNews.com
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Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group CEO Wants To Capitalize On Blockchain Transaction Data
On October 19, 2017, CEO of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) Nobuyuki Hirano addressed the press as the chairman of the Japanese Bankers Association.

Hirano's focus is on the metadata surrounding transactions and how that information might be useful to central banks. "We would be able to capture kinds of financial behavior that cannot be collected as data in cash transactions," said the chairman, adding, "We can use the data to create new value." In a bid to capitalize on the value-laden data, the bank is developing a blockchain-based "MUFG Coin" that is pegged to the Japanese yen. The bank has already been engaged in tests with its employees, for instance, to split restaurant bills. A larger scale test that will include all 30,000 of the bank's employees will be conducted over the coming year.

MUFG isn't the only Japanese bank developing a cryptocurrency to tap a new metric of information for marketplace use. Mizuho Financial Group, a Japanese lender, is also developing a cryptocurrency dubbed "J-Coin" slated for mass-use in 2020.