Overview
- The banking arms of MUFG, SMBC and Mizuho said they will jointly issue a yen-backed stablecoin within the fiscal year ending March 2027 and will form a council to prepare the program.
- Japan’s Financial Services Agency supported earlier pilots that tested joint issuance and corporate cross-border payments using a trust-based model and a third-party blockchain provider.
- Reports say the banks plan a trust structure with the three acting as joint settlors and a trust bank as trustee, but the banks have not disclosed token size, blockchain choice, retail access or a precise rollout timetable.
- The council will set rules for issuance, governance and system design, and the banks said the framework could be opened to other financial firms to support multiple payment uses rather than a single pilot.
- The move comes as private yen stablecoins already exist and Japan’s payment rules allow regulated electronic payment instruments when issuers meet reserve and structural requirements, so the project could speed 24/7 and cross-border business payments while raising questions about reserves, consumer protection and systemic risk.