Today the\u00a0Nikkei\u00a0<\/a>reported that Japanese blockchain firm\u00a0Soramitsu<\/a>\u00a0has landed feasibility studies for central bank digital currency (CBDC<\/a>) with both Vietnam and the Philippines.<\/p>\n Soramitsu<\/a>\u00a0is establishing a considerable footprint in Southeast Asia following its successful implementation of\u00a0Cambodia\u2019s Bakong project<\/a>\u00a0in 2020. Last year it also started working with\u00a0Laos\u2019 central bank<\/a>\u00a0on a CBDC research project. The Nikkei states that a joint venture with Laos will be set up this year, and a state-backed Japanese institution (we\u2019re guessing JIC) might participate.<\/p>\n A key motivation is the expanding reach of Chinese payment apps Alipay and WeChat Pay and the rollout of the\u00a0digital yuan<\/a>, which they anticipate will be used in their countries. Vietnam, in particular, has been\u00a0targeting de-dollarization<\/a>, and its dollarization rate is low\u00a0compared to Cambodia<\/a>\u00a0and Laos.<\/p>\n Without its own digital currency, the country could win the battle against dollarization only to be swamped with the renminbi. In the middle of last year, the\u00a0Vietnam government instructed<\/a>\u00a0the central bank to pilot a CBDC using blockchain.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Philippines has been working on\u00a0a wholesale CBDC\u00a0<\/a>project. We asked Soramitsu whether it is this project they will be working on, but we didn\u2019t receive a response in time for publication.<\/p>\n In January, Soramitsu partnered with the\u00a0Asian Development Bank<\/a>\u00a0to test cross border securities settlements using blockchain. Besides its strong track record in the region, Soramitsu also boasts significant blockchain technology experience. It developed the\u00a0Hyperledger Iroha<\/a>\u00a0blockchain and has recently been involved in public blockchain and DeFi projects such as Polkadot-based Sora and a partnership with Korea\u2019s\u00a0Klaytn<\/a>\u00a0blockchain to develop a decentralized exchange. This combination of experience means that Soramitsu brings considerable innovation skills to the table.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t
\n\t\t \t
\n
\n\t
\n
\n\t
\n\t
\n<\/p><\/div>\n