The Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank and other central banks said Tuesday that they have launched a group to share information related to the potential adoption of digital currencies.

The banks, which also include the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank, aim to assess the possibility of using central bank digital currency in their home jurisdictions.

The group will study "economic, functional and technical design choices, including cross-border interoperability" of cryptocurrencies and work closely with relevant institutions such as the Financial Stability Board.

Many countries and regulatory authorities are wary of widespread use of cryptocurrencies as they could be abused for money laundering and other unlawful activities.

Amid growing caution on the issue, Facebook Inc. said last October that it has no intention to push ahead with the launch of its digital currency Libra without gaining the approval of U.S. regulators.

The Group of 20 major economies also agreed during a meeting of their finance chiefs in the same month that global digital currencies should not be rolled out unless "serious" risks related to money laundering, illicit finance and consumer protections are addressed.

The other participants in the study group are the Sveriges Riksbank and the Bank for International Settlements.

==Kyodo

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