Japanese financial giant MUFG closes blockchain-based payment network project

MUFG announced the winding down of the blockchain-based Global Open Network Japan (GO-NET Japan) payment network project. The largest financial conglomerate in Japan cited slow business growth.

The COVID-19 pandemic was cited as another reason.

GO-NET Japan failed to achieve the network effects required to scale the business. The conglomerate concluded that the project would not achieve meaningful commercial success in a reasonable time frame.

MUFG and a US cloud-services provider established GO-NET Japan as a subsidiary of GO-NET in 2019. It was envisaged that its TPS would be 1 million, and that it would integrate with the IoT.

In the press release MUFG said it would continue to operate in the blockchain space. Digital transformation sits at the heart of its strategy.

Earlier in 2023, the conglomerate announced the launch of a stablecoin pegged to the Japanese yen.

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