Oki Matsumoto, Monex Group's Chairman and CEO, believes digital currencies issued by central banks (CBDC) will speed up the adoption of cryptocurrencies as digital economy will simplify the process of converting between legal tender and cryptocurrencies.
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In an interview with Reuters, Matsumoto said CBDCs will "significantly enhance the interoperability of cryptocurrencies."
"It would make the cryptocurrency market more lively," he added.
Accordig to Monex's head, converting cryptocurrencies into legal tenders is a hard task for small exchange brokers who do not hold bank accounts. Digital currencies issued by regulators could offer a digital-friendly platform where CBDCs, cryptocurrencies and the fiat money could be converted to one another more smoothly, Matsumoto believes.
Japan is accelerating its work in the digitizing the economy as a group of over thirty large Japanese companies will test the practical use case of a central bank digital currency in 2021.
The group, including Japan’s three largest financial institutions with brokerages, telecommunication firms, utilities and retailers, will test the use of CBDC on a single settlement platform. Hiromi Yamaoka, a former Bank of Japan executive, says while Japan has numerous digital platforms, none of which "are big enough to beat cash payments."
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