Tokyo-based fintech firm JPYC has launched Japan’s first yen-backed stablecoin along with a platform to issue the new coin, amid a growing global race to corner the growing market.
The Japanese yen stablecoin JPYC went live on Monday and is backed one-to-one by bank deposits and government bonds, and also has a 1:1 exchange rate with the yen, the company said on Friday.
At a press conference in Tokyo, JPYC President Noriyoshi Okabe said the stablecoin from his company is a “major milestone in the history of Japanese currency,” and has also attracted interest from seven companies planning to incorporate it, according to a report from Business Insider Japan.
JPYC’s launch has come as the global stablecoin market, dominated by dollar-pegged assets like USDT (USDT) and Circle’s (USDC), has exploded to have a market capitalization of over $308 billion. US dollar stablecoins have already established a foothold in Japan, with Circle launching USDC in the country on March 26.
Stablecoin platform launch
In conjunction with its stablecoin, the company has also launched JPYC EX, a dedicated platform created for issuing and redeeming the token, which is governed by strict identity and transaction verification under the Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds.
Users can deposit Japanese yen into an account via bank transfer to receive JPYC to a registered wallet address and also receive a refund in yen to a withdrawal account.
Long-term, JPYC hopes to “achieve an issuance balance of 10 trillion yen over the next three years and take on the challenge of creating a new social infrastructure through stablecoins.”
Stablecoin market in Japan might have other contenders soon
JPYC may not be the only company with a stablecoin for long. Monex Group, a Tokyo-based financial services company, announced in August that it had plans to launch a stablecoin pegged to the Japanese yen.
Related: Money giant Western Union to pilot stablecoin-powered transfers
Three of Japan’s largest banks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Bank Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Mizuho Bank, are also hoping to jointly issue a yen-pegged stablecoin on MUFG’s stablecoin issuance platform Progmat.
At the same time, Japan’s Financial Services Agency may be preparing to review regulations that would allow banks to acquire and hold cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin (BTC), for investment purposes.
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