Share this article
Japan’s Banking Giant MUFG Plans to Launch Blockchain Payment Network in 2021
Japanese banking giant MUFG plans to launch its blockchain payment network across the country in 2021 with U.S.-based fintech company Akamai.
By David Pan
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 10:33 a.m. Published Nov 20, 2020, 9:00 a.m.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), one of the largest banking institutions in Japan, is set to launch its high-speed blockchain payment network with the U.S.-based tech firm Akamai in 2021.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
MUFG and Akamai aim to provide cheaper and more efficient payment services via their joint venture Global Open Network (GO-NET). The network will integrate payment terminals from electronic device manufacturer Seiko Holdings with the bank’s credit card company MUFG NICOS in February, CoinDesk Japan reported. GO-NET initially announced the launch of the payment services to be in the first half of 2020.
The network also plans in July of next year to start a service allowing customers to buy canned and bottled beverages at some vending machines in Japan by placing a credit card on a machine reader. GO-NET said its payment platform can process 100,000 transactions per second, which exceeds Visa's processing capacity of about 70,000 per second. According to GO-NET, the platform can be expanded to reach as high as 10 million transactions per second for small payments.
Read more: ZenGo Joins Visa Fast Track Program to Get Non-Custodial Crypto Card Off the Ground
Founded in May 2018, GO-NET is a joint venture between MUFG and Akamai, with the bank owning 80% of the firm’s stake. The collaboration between the two companies in developing the payment platform started as early as 2016, according to CoinDesk Japan.
While MUFG can leverage its existing financial services to increase the adoption of the network, Akamai helps GO-NET build its infrastructure with around 280,000 servers in 136 countries and the blockchain technology that comes with a native wallet.
MUFG has been working on its own digital currency, MUFG Coin, for several years. It is unclear if the blockchain payment network is related to the bank’s coin initiative.
GO-NET expects the payment services to be fully functional across Japan by the summer of 2022.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Canadian Province Wins Forfeiture of $1M QuadrigaCX Co-Founder's Cash, Gold via Default Judgment
The ruling transfers cash, gold bars, watches, and jewelry seized from a CIBC safety deposit box and bank account into government hands after Patryn did not defend the case.
What to know:
- The Supreme Court of British Columbia has forfeited $1 million in cash and gold tied to QuadrigaCX's co-founder, Michael Patryn, to the government.
- Patryn did not contest the forfeiture, which involved 45 gold bars, luxury watches, and over $250,000 in cash seized under an Unexplained Wealth Order.
- The forfeiture may lead to a process determining if any assets can be directed to QuadrigaCX's creditors, who received 13 cents on the dollar in the bankruptcy settlement.
Top Stories
