Although the Bank of Japan has no immediate plans to issue digital currencies, it is conducting research to prepare for future needs.
Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank is studying digital currencies in case the need to do so heightens in the future, according to a «Reuters» report on Tuesday.
«If stable coins backed by companies with a huge customer base are issued globally, that could have an impact on monetary policy and financial system stability,» Kuroda told the parliament. He added that stable coins should not be issued unless there is a sufficient framework in place to ensure governance and risk management.
Asian Governments At Different Pace
The stance could be triggered by China's move towards a digital currency of its own. The Asian economic giant has expressed eagerness to launch its own digital currency using a framework called Digital Currency Electronic Payment or DCEP, and is likely to roll this out in the next two to three months, said Jack Lee, managing partner of HCM Capital, who was quoted in a «CNBC» report.
That would allow its central bank to issue a digital currency to commercial banks and third-party payments networks by Alipay and WeChat Pay, he explained. Elsewhere in Asia, the central banks of South Korea and Singapore have expressed that there appears to be a lack of compelling reasons for central banks of developed countries to issue digital currencies.
