Japan's GMO Internet Unveils New Blockchain KYC Project

Japanese digital services firm GMO Internet has developed a new blockchain-based know-your-customer (KYC) tool.

In an announcement, the company said that the application was specifically intended for use by banks when verifying the identities of new customers.

GMO Internet explained the system in the release, stating:

"The user submits the 'personal information' necessary for identity verification to the certification body, and signs the signature (acceptance with the 'key' paired with the address) from the terminal owned by the principal. The certification body confirms the 'personal information' of the user, generates 'hash value of personal information,' and records it on the blockchain in association with the address of the user associated with the signature."

The current code for the tool has been made open-source, with GMO indicating that it will look to apply the tech in other parts of its wider business group, including some of its existing identity services.

"GMO Blockchain OSS is currently preparing for the development of [a] smartphone application for certification ... and demonstration experiments in collaboration with GMO GlobalSign to put this mechanism into practical use," the firm said.

The new tool is the latest launch from the company related to blockchain tech, coming months after it opened a cryptocurrency exchange in Japan and announced plans to create a cloud mining service. As previously reported, GMO, a publicly traded firm founded in the 1990s, is planning to spend tens of millions of dollars in the coming months to build the cryptocurrency mine.

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