The Chinese authorities, which, as part of the experiment, have already brought the digital yuan to some of the citizens, called on the monetary authorities of other countries to follow their example in order to make digital currencies an alternative not only to bitcoin, but also to the dollar. It seems that the Japanese authorities have responded the fastest, as they began their experiments with the national cryptocurrency today.

As Reuters explains with reference to the Bank of Japan, the first phase of experiments with the “digital currency of the central bank” (CBDC, from the English. central bank digital currency) started this week and will run until next March. The Central Bank of Japan will study the nuances of issuing, distributing and accepting digital currency as a means of payment in the country. In the second phase, which will begin next year, the bank will receive broader powers to manage the “digital money supply”.

The Japanese authorities are even ready to involve payment systems and end users in the pilot program if necessary, as representatives of the Bank of Japan said last month. They emphasized that while there is no talk of a large-scale issue of digital currency, but experiments need to be started now. For the first time, such intentions were announced back in October last year.