Softbank’s LINE PLUS Released Blockchain For CBDC Issuance

Softbank’s LINE Plus recently released a blockchain for central banks to issue their own digital currencies and meet the demands of different central banks as well so let’s read more in today’s blockchain news.

Softbank’s LINE Plus is in talks with several Asian central banks and the mass adoption of CBDCs could be just around the corner but the technology used to achieve is still not perfect. LINE plus is a south Korean software and tech service corporation owned by Japanese multinational giant SoftBank which released a blockchain platform to help central banks get their CBDCs off the ground. CBDCs are central bank-backed and state-controlled currencies which is a far cry from the vision of stateless monetary systems. But they are still big news and LINE believes they will be a huge success in Asia. In a press release, LINE said it is discussing its new open-source CBDC platform with central banks in various Asian countries.

Each Asian central bank’s idea of a CBDC is quite different and projects are not equally developed. Cambodia’s CBDC runs on the blockchain and it is analog to cash while Hong Kong and Thailand are focusing on a CBDC that facilitates cross-border payments between banks. China is the one that is most ahead as it is piloting a digital yuan which will function as a digital version to Cash. Some consider that china’s recent crackdown on crypto like BTC is a way to keeping digital currencies under the control of the country.

Outside of Asia, most banks like the FED and the European Central Bank, haven’t really committed to specific designs or concluded that blockchains are the way to go but they are interested still. The ECB warned EU governments a month ago that they could lose monetary autonomy to the entire private sector if they don’t accept CBDC. Over in the Middle East, on the other hand, the Bank of Israel concluded that a digital shekel will streamline Israel’s economy while the Palestinian Monetary Authority concluded that the digital currency could lessen Palestine’s dependence on Israel. LINE also expects that blockchain is going to be a huge thing in CBDCs but that’s about everything that it is presumed.

LINE’s new platform supports KYC and AML and has a modular structure allowing for different features to be added by developers as needed. LINE’s blockchain is built on Cosmos SDK which is great for building proof of stake blockchains that can interoperate with other blockchains.