Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, one of the largest general insurers in Japan, has partnered with bitcoin exchange bitFlyer to provide insurance that will cover failed transactions made using the electronic currency.
In case a customer payment is unsuccessful due to system problems and outages or other unforeseen circumstances, the policy will cover damages incurred.
The new insurance policy, which will be released this week, is the first of its kind in Japan, reports Nikkei.
Meanwhile, another Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange, Coincheck, is planning to team up with
Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance to offer its own version of bitcoin insurance, which will also be released in the near future.
The exact details of the insurance policies are not yet made public, but these bitcoin insurance products seek to build confidence in the cryptocurrency as a transaction medium. It comes a few months after Japan recognised bitcoin as a legal payment method, which led to the formation of a framework for overseeing digital currency exchanges in the country.
Japan is one of the early adopters of bitcoin, with several merchants accepting the digital currency in day-to-day transactions. Satoshi Nakamoto, the identity used by the unknown developer (or developers) of bitcoin, claims to be from Japan.
Bitcoin is reliant on blockchain technology, which is also being adopted by the insurance industry. Several insurers are participating in various initiatives that harness blockchain’s distributed ledger solutions to automate policy issuing and claim processing.
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