The Bank of Japan is actively exploring how its money could work in a future built on blockchain networks. The bank devised initiatives such as Project Agorá and domestic sandbox trials which are testing how digital versions of sovereign currency might connect with next-generation financial infrastructure.
Ueda Kazuo , Governor of the Bank of Japan, recently made promising statements, highlighting how the nation’s central bank is planning to use blockchain for advancing the financial system.
Ueda highlighted that the fast-growing use of blockchain and artificial intelligence is transforming how the financial system operates. As digital assets, tokenized platforms and automated systems become more common, the structure of finance is gradually shifting away from traditional intermediaries toward technology-driven infrastructure.
In this changing environment, he argued, central banks have an increasingly important role to play.
Central banks should anchor trust as digital finance accelerates
As crypto-related systems get more advanced, problems with stability and trustworthiness are taking a center stage for users.
According to Ueda, central banks can become an “anchor of trust,” ensuring that “the fundamental principles of financial trustworthiness and reliability continue to hold true even in an environment of rapidly advancing innovations.”
At the same time, Japan hasn’t shelved its retail CBDC plans. Technical experiments are still ongoing, focused on ensuring that if digital cash is ever introduced, it would be secure, stable and widely trusted.
For policymakers, the goal is to make sure central bank money can continue serving as a reliable “anchor of trust,” even as private digital assets and tokenized systems become more common.
Blockchain takes center stage for financial growth
In his speech during the FIN/SUM 2026 conference in Tokyo, Ueda Kazuo made it clear that blockchain technology is no longer “an experimental phenomenon.”
In his understanding, blockchain technology has now moved to a “real-world implementation phase,” in which DeFi and tokenization are “modifying payments, settlements, and cross-border transactions.”
Atomic transactions, for instance, enable several steps to be grouped together in a single, seamless transaction. This could revolutionize complex systems like delivery-versus-payment.
However, his speech was not only about the benefits of blockchain technology; it was also about the importance of stability.
He warned of the dangers of friction and risk if blockchains and traditional payment systems fail to properly connect.
Additionally, he suggests that central bank money, in the form of tokens, might bridge this gap.
Another aspect of blockchain technology highlighted by Ueda was the role of artificial intelligence in monitoring blockchain activities.