Key Takeaways
- Some of Japan’s largest banking and financial groups plan to launch yen-denominated stablecoins.
- Earlier this year, Japan’s three “megabank” conglomerates started developing a JPY stablecoin.
- Now, SBI Holdings has entered the race, too.
Since the launch of the first JPY-backed stablecoin in October, each of Japan’s “megabank” financial conglomerates has now staked a claim for territory in the new market.
Following Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui, and Mizuho, on Tuesday, Dec. 16, SBI Group announced plans to launch a new coin in the second quarter of 2026.
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Japanese Megabanks Pile Into Stablecoins
Tokyo initially laid the groundwork for yen stablecoins in 2023, when amendments to the Payment Services Act (PSA) established a legal framework for the issuance and redemption of these coins.
The first issuer to receive regulatory approval was JPYC Inc., which debuted its namesake token earlier this year.
After JPYC fired the starting gun on Japan’s stablecoin race, the country’s heavyweight banking groups weren’t far behind.
An existing collaboration between the three megabanks—Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui, and Mizuho—received a significant boost in November when their project secured support from the Financial Services Agency’s fintech hub.
Now, with SBI entering the field, the megabank consortium faces increased competition.
SBI Teams up With Startale for JPY Stablecoin
To develop its new stablecoin, SBI has teamed up with Startale Group, the blockchain developer behind Sony’s Ethereum Layer 2 network, Soneium.
A press release announcing the partnership positioned the planned coin as an institutional settlement rail for foreign exchange and tokenized asset flows.
It aims to offer “a yen-denominated alternative in a stablecoin market [...] which remains heavily concentrated in U.S. dollar assets,” the release stated.
With a much smaller footprint in retail banking, SBI isn’t usually counted among Japan’s Megabanks. Instead, its business is more focused on trading and investment.
The group has a significant presence in Japan’s digital asset and blockchain ecosystem, with subsidiaries that include one of the country’s largest crypto exchanges and a joint venture with Ripple that distributes blockchain-based banking infrastructure across Asia.
Alongside stablecoins, SBI has also prioritized tokenized real-world assets (RWA). Earlier this year, it entered into a joint venture with Startale to develop an on-chain trading platform for tokenized stocks and other RWAs.
