The fact that the Blockchain technology is still in its much-cited children’s shoes, does not stop them to continue in the direction of mass adaptation. While the regulatory authorities in this world are still largely skeptical about technology, the Japanese Financial Services Authority (FSA) set up a kind of regulatory playground already in September 2017 that could be used by aspiring blockchain and fintech companies.
The regulatory sandbox is an idea that has been growing in popularity since the 2008 financial crisis. The purpose of the Sandbox is to create a safe environment for innovations in the FinTech sector.
From a business perspective, the benefits of such “playgrounds” include potentially reducing regulatory uncertainties and time-to-market. At the same time, the inclusion of a company in such a sandbox also sends a signal to the markets and legislators that a technology is “on the radar” of the respective regulator.
Liquid Bitcoin against YEN tokens
In Japan, this sandbox is called “FinTech Proof-of-Concept (PoC) Hub”. This is where the start-up Crypto Garage will make its first steps. This was announced by the start-up on January 21 in a press release.
Crypto Garage claims to use SETTLENET to efficiently and trustfully transfer crypto assets between Bitcoin exchanges. In addition, a Stable Coin (JPY Token) coupled to the Japanese Yen is used, which is issued on the Liquid Sidechain of the house Blockstream and traded against Liquid Bitcoin (L-BTC). The L-BTC always tracks the Bitcoin price. Atomic Swaps should allow participants to exchange LBTC instantaneously for JPY tokens.
“This allows for a fast, secure and confidential transfer of crypto assets while eliminating the counterparty risk. In addition, SETTLENET will allow regulators to monitor every illegal trade, including money laundering “,
it says in the press release. In the “sandbox” Crypto Garage now wants to test whether crypto assets can be safely transferred via sidechain. Another goal is the establishment of a “stable and healthy OTC market”.
The project has a term of one year. During this time, the participating crypto exchanges can access SETTLENET for free.