Japan developing a SWIFT-like network for crypto payments - Report

Asia • July 18, 2019, 3:00AM EDT
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The Japanese government is reportedly leading the development of a SWIFT-like network for cryptocurrency payments to combat money laundering.

“A person familiar with the plan,” told Reuters on Thursday that the development will be monitored by the inter-governmental body, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and that the government aims to launch the network in the next few years.

FATF reportedly approved the plan for setting up the network in June, which was proposed by Japan’s Ministry of Finance and the country’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA).

SWIFT is a messaging system used by banks for money transfers around the world. It is unclear at the moment how the cryptocurrency network would work, per the report.

Japan has taken several initiatives to tighten up the cryptocurrency industry. Back in 2017, the country passed a law that recognized bitcoin as a legal method of payment, as well as brought cryptocurrency exchanges under anti-money laundering (AML)/know-your-customer (KYC) rules.

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Yogita Khatri profile picture Yogita Khatri

Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block and the author of The Funding newsletter. As our longest-serving editorial member, Yogita has been instrumental in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With over 3,000 articles to her name, Yogita is The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Before joining The Block, Yogita wrote for CoinDesk and The Economic Times. You can reach her at [email protected] or follow her latest updates on X at @Yogita_Khatri5.

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