Japan’s financial services regulator has approved a stablecoin pilot involving the country’s three largest banks: MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., and Mizuho Bank.
According to the announcement, the PoC trial will look to verify whether “regulatory and practical compliance” can be carried out “legally and appropriately” when multiple banks jointly issue a stablecoin.
Business newspaper Nikkei Asia reported earlier this month that the banks intend their stablecoin to be in practical use by March 2026, following the PoC trial finalizing. They reportedly plan for the stablecoin to be used for both intracompany and intercompany payments, and by their corporate clients.
In addition, Nikkei said that though the initial focus will be on issuing a yen-pegged stablecoin, the banks also plan a dollar-pegged stablecoin at an unspecified time in the future. The banks will reportedly use the technical infrastructure of Tokyo-based fintech company, Progmat.
Stablecoins in Japan
The news comes as smaller firms have already rolled out yen stablecoins. Last week, JPYC, a Tokyo startup, announced a fully convertible yen stablecoin backed by domestic bank deposits and Japanese government bonds (JGBs).
Rajiv Sawhney, a Tokyo-based portfolio manager at Wave Digital Assets International, expects that the banks will be able to go ahead with plans to roll out their stablecoin by March 2026—but doesn’t feel that the coin will see much adoption, at least initially.
He pointed to the popularity of QR-based payment network PayPay in Japan, which is already widely adopted by merchants.
“Unlike the US, Japan is already very much cashless. So adoption will take more time in my opinion.”
East Asia looks to stablecoins
While USD-pegged stablecoins still control 99% of the market, many of Japan’s Asian rivals are making fast progress when it comes to shoring up their stablecoin infrastructure.
XSGD, a Singapore-dollar-based token with full Monetary Authority of Singapore oversight, was listed on Coinbase in late September. South Korea’s first fully regulated won-backed stablecoin, KRW1, launched in September, in a partnership between Woori Bank and Digital asset custodian BDACS. Meanwhile, Tether USDT became available to withdraw via many ATMs in South Korea in July.
China has largely bucked the trend, recently clamping down on private sector efforts to launch stablecoins. The People’s Bank of China and the Cyberspace Administration of China told Ant Group and JD.com to back down from their plans to launch stablecoins in Hong Kong earlier this month.
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