Japanese Internet Giant GMO to Launch Yen-Pegged Cryptocurrency

Japan’s GMO Internet Group has announced plans to issue a yen-pegged stablecoin called GMO Japanese Yen. Already in the crypto exchange and mining hardware businesses, the company plans to launch its third crypto enterprise with this stablecoin.

Also read: 160 Crypto Exchanges Seek to Enter Japanese Market, Regulator Reveals

Yen-Pegged Stablecoin

GMO Internet Group announced Tuesday that it “will start full-scale preparations to issue stable coins of virtual currency, with an eye to enter into the ‘settlement’ area of virtual currency business.” The company detailed:

‘GMO Japanese Yen (ticker symbol: GJY)’ [will be launched] through the unified brand (global brand) ‘Z.com’ in the overseas strategy of the GMO Internet Group. [It will be a] ‘yen-pegged currency’ linked with the Japanese yen.

Noting that there are already 57 stablecoins in the world, 23 of which are already in circulation, GMO disclosed that “We plan to start issuing [the stablecoin] for the Asian region around the fiscal year 2019.”

Third Crypto Business

Currently, GMO has two businesses in the crypto space: the exchange business which started in May last year and the mining business which started in December. In its earnings presentation published in August, the company outlined another crypto business area it seeks to enter called “cryptocurrency payment.”

In Tuesday’s stablecoin announcement, GMO revealed that it has been “investigating and researching whether the virtual currency could be the settlement currency from the viewpoint of volatility.”

GMO’s Hope for Its Stablecoin

According to GMO, in order to solve the hyperinflation problem seen in many developing countries, “issues such as true non-centralization need to be overcome.” The firm asserted that stablecoins can be a solution to this problem “as a currency to replace low-credit domestic currencies.” The firm also believes that even in developed countries, stablecoins have “a potential to become a global standard innovative financial infrastructure.”

Referring to its yen-pegged crypto, GMO described:

One of the tasks is to stabilize price fluctuation (volatility), which is a risk to remittance and settlement, in order to increase the spreading and development of the virtual currency.

What do you think of GMO issuing a yen-pegged stablecoin? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock and GMO Internet Group.

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