This is a milestone in the practical implementation of cryptocurrency, which is slated to be the future of money.

On Thursday, in a significant development, the government of Japan stated, it is leading a global push to install an international network for cryptocurrency payments, just like the SWIFT network used by banks. The effort is likely to play a pivotal role in the fight against money laundering.

According to a source, the network will be in place in the next few years.

The source preferred the cover of anonymity since the information has yet to be made public.

A team related to the inter-governmental Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will monitor its development and Japan will cooperate with other countries, said the source.

Last month, FATF had approved a plan for establishing a new network, which was proposed by Japan’s Ministry of Finance and the Financial Services Agency (FSA) regulator, according to a source.

The FSA and the Ministry of Finance declined to comment.