Japan
SORAMITSU, a prominent player in the blockchain technology sphere, is playing a key role in deploying blockchain-based central bank infrastructure in Asia. This initiative began with Bakong in Cambodia and the Digital Lao Kip in Laos, aiming to enhance digital financial ecosystems in the region.
The impact of this endeavor is evident, with Bakong already facilitating QR code-based digital transactions across Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. As of 2022, Bakong has achieved significant adoption, with 8.5 million users and transactions totaling approximately $15 billion.
SORAMITSU is now focused on simplifying cross-border payments, with a particular interest in India and China. There is also excitement about the potential integration of Japan into this network.
In line with this strategy, SORAMITSU is in the process of establishing a stablecoin exchange in Japan. This development aims to enable smooth cross-border transactions. For example, a consumer in Thailand could make purchases from a Japanese online store using a QR code-based payment method. The payment would be transmitted through Bakong as USD and converted into a yen-denominated stablecoin.
This system offers cost-effectiveness by bypassing traditional interbank payment networks, reducing fees associated with intermediary banks. Preliminary assessments suggest that stablecoin exchange fees would be reasonable, compared to typical costs in cross-border transactions.
SORAMITSU leverages its blockchain expertise to facilitate stablecoin exchanges within the same blockchain and conducts transactions simultaneously across multiple blockchains, improving efficiency.
SORAMITSU’s vision is to use tokenized central bank assets and stablecoins to connect Japanese SMEs with consumers and businesses in Southeast Asia, an area with high smartphone penetration but limited access to traditional banking services.
A report by the Bank for International Settlements in 2021 highlighted the potential of CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) payment trials in significantly reducing cross-border payment processing times. SORAMITSU aims to offer rapid cross-border financial transactions through its payment solutions anchored in Bakong and the stablecoin exchange, transforming regional finance.
Utilizing blockchain, SORAMITSU has developed a digital currency infrastructure backbone for the National Bank of Cambodia, a CBDC Proof-of-Concept with the Bank of the Lao PDR, a closed-loop payment system for the University of Aizu in Japan, an identity verification system prototype for Bank Central Asia in Indonesia, shortlisted in the Monetary Authority of Singapore CBDC Challenge, participated in Asia-Pacific’s first proof-of-concept test of a cross-border multi-currency security settlement system using distributed ledger technology with the Asian Development Bank, and in collaboration with the Risk Assurance Group and Orillion Solutions developed the technology core of the Fraud Intelligence Blockchain.
SORAMITSU is an active contributor to many open source projects, such as Klaytn, South Korea’s leading Layer-1 blockchain, KAGOME, the C++ Polkadot Host implementation, the SORA crypto-economic system, the Polkaswap DEX, and the DeFi wallet, Fearless Wallet. SORAMITSU also collaborated with Filecoin to develop FUHON, a C++ implementation of their protocol. In addition, SORAMITSU is the developer of and major contributor to the open-source blockchain platform Hyperledger Iroha, a project of Hyperledger Foundation, part of the Linux Foundation, tailored for enterprise and public-sector use. As founding contributors to the Hyperledger Project and cooperation partners of the Web3 Foundation, SORAMITSU is building the digital infrastructure of the future.
Based on these experiences, SORAMITSU aims to deploy cutting-edge technology on a global level in order to expedite financial inclusion and health, mitigate economic inefficiencies, and contribute to the fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals.
