A token-based blockchain settlement system is under scrutiny by the leading Japanese bank, as it plans to develop new financial services after learning “how payments can be instantaneously swapped.”

The pilot project trialled by Mizuho Financial Group is based on the open source code that was contributed by IBM to the Hyperledger Project. The bank has been working with a newly opened Bluemix Garage in Tokyo owned by IBM. The latter provides a variety of IBM Blockchain services, including a cloud platform Bluemix and assessment systems aimed at finding best blockchain uses for different industries.

According to the official statement, “IBM is helping the bank transform the design and development of business applications using blockchain” basing on its global insights and experience.

“Mizuho Financial Group has a history of adopting new technologies to continuously improve customer services. In an era of technology transformation, Mizuho is testing blockchain, Watson, and other technologies to deliver high quality and more efficient customer services,” said Masahiko Katou, Senior Technical Officer at Mizuho Financial Group.

Mizuho proceeds with putting blockchain “through a number of rigorous tests,” sharing their experience with the community. The tests involve private, secure and permissioned blockchains.

The token or virtual currency used by the bank for its experiments trades 1:1 with the Yen and helps better understand the funds exchange process in a secure environment.

The former Mt. Gox bank is known for its interest in the distributed ledger technology. In March 2016, Mizuho and Fujitsu announced a successful trial of blockchain for cross-border securities transaction settlements.