Japan megabanks conduct 1,500 transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain, more than current interbank system

Japan's three biggest banking groups found in joint testing that domestic money transfers using blockchain technology were just as fast as current systems.



This will likely pave the way for the commercial adoption of the technology, which underpins the bitcoin digital currency, in the conventional banking industry. The banks will publish their findings in the near future.



The three megabanks and the Deloitte Tohmatsu accounting group formed a research forum, which partnered with Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange operator bitFlyer in a proof-of-concept experiment that lasted nine months through September.



Blockchain's low processing speed was seen as a major drawback of the technology. But researchers were able to conduct 1,500 transactions per second using blockchain, on a par with the nearly 1,400 transactions the current interbank wire system is capable of handling at peak times.



The megabanks will continue to pursue blockchain's commercial application by enlisting the aid of startups.