Shinsei Trust and Banking is set to issue a yen-based stablecoin next year, in the hopes that it will achieve widespread adoption as a global settlement currency domestically and internationally.
With introduction set for the April to June quarter, it¡¯s likely to be Japan¡¯s first bank-backed stablecoin.
¡°The transition to a ¡¯token economy,¡¯ where all real-world assets are tokenized and tokens permeate society as a means of settlement, is now an irreversible societal trend,¡± SBI Holdings President Yoshitaka Kitao said in a statement on Tuesday.
SBI Holdings is the parent company of Shinsei Trust and Banking.
Startale Group, a Singapore-based blockchain tech firm, will develop the stablecoin together with SBI.
Shinsei Trust and Banking will issue the coin, while SBI VC Trade ¡ª an SBI subsidiary that operates a crypto exchange ¡ª will promote its circulation.
Stablecoins are digital clones of fiat money, such as the dollar, and are often collateralized with those currencies to keep their value stable. They are built using the blockchain technology that is used for crypto assets such as bitcoin.
In theory, stablecoins can be transferred cheaply and quickly around the clock to others, even overseas recipients, as digital tokens on decentralized blockchain networks can move without involving intermediaries.
International settlements is one of the target markets for the product.
Japan¡¯s three megabanks ¡ª MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking ¡ª are together issuing a stablecoin, but as an experiment. It will be used by Mitsubishi Corp., a trading company, for its cross-border settlement.
Stablecoins have become a hot topic this year, with the crypto-friendly administration of U.S. President Donald Trump introducing the first legislation to establish a regulatory framework for crypto assets in the United States.
The market is currently dominated by two dollar-pegged digital assets, the USDT stablecoin issued by Hong Kong-based Tether and the USDC issued by New York-based Circle.
In October, Japan¡¯s JPYC issued the world¡¯s first yen-backed stablecoin, also called JPYC.
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