On June 24, 2026, SBI Shinsei Trust Bank issued JPYSC, Japan’s first trust bank-backed yen stablecoin, with no cap on transaction size. It is the clearest sign yet that Japan’s stablecoin rules have moved from paper to practice.
Most of the global stablecoin conversation still centers on the US dollar and on Washington. Yet Japan was the first G7 economy to write stablecoins into law, back in 2022, and it has spent the years since building a regulated market on top of that law.
That market now includes a retail yen stablecoin, a bank-grade one, regulated access to dollar stablecoins, and a megabank consortium preparing its own token. This post explains how the system works, who is building on it, and why it matters well beyond Japan.
How Japan regulates stablecoins
Japan’s rule is simple: only licensed financial institutions may issue a stablecoin, and it must be fully backed and redeemable at par. The 2022 amendment to the Payment Services Act, in force since June 2023, defines fiat-backed stablecoins as “electronic payment instruments” and allows three kinds of issuer.
| Issuer type | Reserve rules | Size limit | First to market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fund transfer service provider | Deposits, bank guarantees or safe assets, including Japanese government bonds | ¥1 million per transfer | JPYC (October 2025) |
| Trust bank or trust company | Bank deposits; since 2025, up to 50% in low-risk instruments such as short-term government bonds | No cap | JPYSC (June 2026); the megabanks’ coin will use this route too |
| Bank | Issued as a deposit, under banking supervision | No cap | Tokenized deposits such as DCJPY |
Issuance is only half the system. Anyone who buys, sells, holds or transfers stablecoins for customers must register as an Electronic Payment Instruments Exchange Service Provider. That is also the route for foreign stablecoins such as USDC, which reach Japanese users only through a registered local intermediary.
The framework keeps evolving. Act No. 66 of 2025, enacted in June 2025, relaxed reserve rules for trust-type issuers and created a lighter category for pure brokers (The Block). In January 2026, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) opened a consultation on which bonds may back reserves, and it added a check that foreign issuers do not solicit Japanese users directly.
Who is building on it
By the end of June 2026, Japan had live yen and dollar stablecoins from both crypto-native firms and its largest financial groups. June 24 alone brought two launches: JPYSC and the official debut of Ripple’s RLUSD, both through SBI VC Trade.
| Stablecoin | Currency | Issuer or distributor | Status at end of June 2026 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPYSC | Yen | SBI Shinsei Trust Bank, co-developed with Startale | Launched June 24, 2026 | Around $70 million issued on day one; no transaction cap |
| RLUSD | Dollar | Ripple, distributed by SBI VC Trade | Official launch June 24, 2026, after a limited rollout from March | Approved under a new category for foreign-issued stablecoins |
| Megabank joint coin | Yen | MUFG, SMBC and Mizuho as joint settlors, with a trust bank as trustee | Council formed in June 2026; launch targeted by March 2027 | Grew out of an FSA-backed pilot in late 2025 |
| EJPY | Yen | Japan Blockchain Foundation | Announced May 2026 | Planned on Japan Open Chain and Ethereum |
| JPYC | Yen | JPYC Inc. | Live since October 2025 | Japan’s first legally recognized yen stablecoin; ¥1 million per transfer |
| USDC | Dollar | Circle, distributed by SBI VC Trade | Available since March 2025 | First dollar stablecoin approved in Japan |
Use is spreading beyond crypto exchanges. At MoneyX 2026 in Tokyo, LINE NEXT said its Unifi wallet would adopt JPYC. Software firm Asteria announced a JPYC Gateway for April 2026, linking business systems used by more than 10,000 companies, and a plan to hold ¥1 billion of JPYC on its balance sheet.
Banks are also testing tokenized deposits, such as DCJPY, which run alongside stablecoins rather than replacing them. Together, these pieces give Japan something rare: retail and institutional tokens, in both yen and dollars, under one rulebook.
Why it matters for the world
Japan’s market is still small next to the global stablecoin supply, which stood at about $308 billion in January 2026. Its importance lies elsewhere, in four things no other major economy has combined so far.
A serious non-dollar option. Almost every stablecoin today tracks the US dollar. The yen sits on one side of 16.8% of all foreign exchange trades, third behind the dollar and the euro (BIS). Regulated yen tokens with no size cap bring one of the world’s most traded currencies on-chain, and open the door to on-chain yen-dollar FX.
A rulebook that works in practice. Japan made stablecoins bank-grade from day one: licensed issuers, full reserves, redemption at par and a registered intermediary layer. The US GENIUS Act, signed in July 2025, follows a similar logic. Japan has now also shown how a foreign stablecoin can be admitted under local rules, with RLUSD approved under a new category for foreign-issued coins.
Incumbents building, not resisting. In many countries, banks see stablecoins as a threat to deposits. In Japan, SBI’s trust bank issues JPYSC and the three megabanks are jointly preparing their own coin. That makes Japan a live test of how traditional finance adopts stablecoins on its own terms.
A settlement layer for Asia. The yen is Asia’s most traded currency, and Japan sits at the center of regional trade and investment flows. Yen and dollar stablecoins under one supervisor could make Tokyo a natural hub for on-chain payments, tokenized securities and cross-border settlement in the region.
What to watch next
The next 12 months will show whether Japan’s stablecoins can move from launch to real volume. Three developments matter most.
- JPYSC on public chains. For now, JPYSC stays inside SBI VC Trade accounts. Withdrawals to Ethereum and other networks are planned once regulatory and tax treatment is clear, along with a lending service.
- The megabank launch. MUFG, SMBC and Mizuho are aiming to issue their joint coin by March 2027. A stablecoin backed by Japan’s three largest banks would bring corporate treasuries and interbank flows on-chain.
- Crypto under securities law. On June 11, 2026, the lower house passed a bill moving crypto assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, and an upper-house vote is pending (The Defiant). Stablecoins are carved out and stay under the Payment Services Act, but the bill opens a path to crypto ETFs and a flat 20% tax on gains, which would pull more investors into on-chain markets.
The bigger picture
Japan took the slow, careful route to stablecoins, and it is now paying off. While other markets debated whether to allow stablecoins at all, Japan wrote the rules, licensed the issuers and let its largest institutions build.
The result is a working model for how a major economy can bring both its own currency and the dollar on-chain without giving up oversight. For anyone building in payments, tokenization or cross-border finance, Japan is no longer a market to watch from a distance. It is a market to be in.
Sources
- SBI Group launches JPYSC, Japan’s first trust bank-backed yen stablecoin, Cryptonews, June 24, 2026
- Ripple and SBI Group partner to launch Ripple USD (RLUSD) in Japan, Ripple, June 24, 2026
- Japan’s largest banks plan joint stablecoin launch by March 2027, Decrypt via Yahoo Finance, June 10, 2026
- Japan’s lower house passes bill moving crypto under securities law, The Defiant, June 12, 2026
- Japan’s regulator seeks public input on bonds eligible for stablecoin reserves, The Block, January 27, 2026
- Stablecoin fragmentation creates new risks for businesses, PYMNTS, January 27, 2026
- 2025 Triennial Central Bank Survey, Bank for International Settlements, September 30, 2025
- MoneyX 2026 event materials (LINE NEXT and Asteria announcements)