In the future, Japan may distribute subsidies as a lump sum of stablecoins that can only be used to buy groceries or pay for childcare.
#JapanFinancialServicesAgencyReleasesOnChainFinanceMeetingMinutes
This comes from the minutes of the on-chain finance forum held on September 30, just released by the Financial Services Agency. The Digital Agency itself said that benefits could be distributed using stablecoins or tokenized deposits, with programmable features strictly limiting how the money can be used. At the same meeting, the Ministry of Finance said it would begin studying the use of blockchain for government bonds in October, while the Bank of Japan is working on a sandbox to connect central bank accounts to on-chain settlement, with a roadmap due in early 2027.
I recognize the benefits: preventing fraudulent claims and getting money to people faster. But I’m uneasy about designing money so that, once distributed, it can only be spent on specific things. Today it’s food; what gets restricted tomorrow depends on whoever writes the rules.
There are only four stablecoins currently circulating in Japan, and just two yen-pegged ones, JPYC and JPYSC. Actually putting subsidies on-chain is still a long way off, but the possibility has now been put in writing in the meeting minutes.
#JapanFinancialServicesAgencyReleasesOnChainFinanceMeetingMinutes
This comes from the minutes of the on-chain finance forum held on September 30, just released by the Financial Services Agency. The Digital Agency itself said that benefits could be distributed using stablecoins or tokenized deposits, with programmable features strictly limiting how the money can be used. At the same meeting, the Ministry of Finance said it would begin studying the use of blockchain for government bonds in October, while the Bank of Japan is working on a sandbox to connect central bank accounts to on-chain settlement, with a roadmap due in early 2027.
I recognize the benefits: preventing fraudulent claims and getting money to people faster. But I’m uneasy about designing money so that, once distributed, it can only be spent on specific things. Today it’s food; what gets restricted tomorrow depends on whoever writes the rules.
There are only four stablecoins currently circulating in Japan, and just two yen-pegged ones, JPYC and JPYSC. Actually putting subsidies on-chain is still a long way off, but the possibility has now been put in writing in the meeting minutes.