DeCurret DCP, the company behind the DCJPY tokenized deposit network, said it has started production testing of the network. It expects to go into production in August. DeCurret runs the Japanese Digital Currency Forum, which has more than a hundred corporate and government participants who are exploring a broad range of applications that use digital currencies for settlement. DeCurret also raised significant funding from several big names, including MUFG, SMBC and SBI Holdings.
However, they are not participants in the first application, which uses on-chain bank deposits to pay for tokenized renewable energy certificates (RECs). The Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ) recently became a member of the Japan Electric Power Exchange (JEPX) to procure RECs on behalf of its data center clients. Now it plans to convert the RECs into digital tokens and settle transactions with tokenized deposits from GMO Aozora Net Bank.
In the future DeCurret DCP wants to expand the application by including electricity retailers, power companies and carbon trading exchanges.
The key benefits of on-chain payment is it eliminates settlement risk because the asset and money exchange simultaneously. Another advantage is automation, with programmability payments enabling a vast range of use cases.
The DCJPY Network consists of two separate blockchains, a Business Zone(s) and a Financial Zone. Only banks are present in the Financial Zone and this is where they tokenize the deposits and the DCJPY transfers actually happen. The transfer of the asset is recorded in the Business Zone. However, so are the instructions to transfer the DCJPY (but not the actual transfer). This requires synchronization between the two blockchain zones. DeCurret DCP uses the Inter-Blockchain Communication Protocol (IBC) from Cosmos.
Meanwhile, a recent DeCurret DCP survey showed a luke warm appetite for digital currencies from enterprises. Out of 100 companies surveyed, 26% aim to use digital currency in one to three years. Just over two thirds of those with plans are members of the Digital Currency Forum.
Japan’s approach to digital currencies
Japan is one of the most advanced economies in terms of legal support for digital currencies. It passed legislation that supports three types of stablecoins. These include two bank related ones – stablecoins backed by bank deposits and third party reserve backed stablecoins where the reserves are managed by trust banks. Hence, in the realm of digital currency, DCJPY faces competition at launch.
Ledger Insights Research has published a report on bank-issued stablecoins and tokenized deposits featuring more than 70 projects. Find out more here.
