Saitama, the Japanese city with a population of 1.2 million, is set to become the country’s first city to have its own digital currency.
The SaitamaCoin will be launched in February and will be used to pay for goods and services within the city.
The city has been working on the project for over a year, and the plan is for the coin to be used in a similar way to Bitcoin. However, unlike Bitcoin, which is not backed by any government or central bank, the SaitamaCoin will be backed by the city’s government.
The city has already partnered with a number of businesses, including a local supermarket chain, to accept the coin. It is also working with Japan’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, bitFlyer, to help promote and sell the coin.
The launch of the SaitamaCoin is part of the city’s wider plan to become a ‘smart city’, using technology to improve services and quality of life for residents. The city has already implemented a number of smart city initiatives, such as an intelligent traffic system that uses artificial intelligence to monitor traffic flows and reduce congestion.
So far, there has been no official word from Coinbase on whether or not they will list the SaitamaCoin. However, considering Coinbase’s recent announcement that they will list five new coins on their platform in 2019, it is highly likely that the SaitamaCoin will be one of them.