Megabanks Form Council to Launch Joint Stablecoin by 2027
Japan’s three largest banking institutions—MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation—have established a council with the goal of developing the operational frameworks necessary for the joint issuance of a stablecoin by March 2027.
According to a statement released by the banks, the stablecoin will be issued under a trust agreement. The three megabanks will act as joint settlors, with a designated “trust bank or similar institution” serving as the trustee. The banks are aiming for a joint launch in fiscal year 2026, with an emphasis on exploring the potential for stablecoins to be utilized across a broad spectrum of applications.
This initiative stems from a pilot project that commenced in late 2025. The project was designed to investigate the feasibility of regulatory and practical compliance when multiple banks collaborate on issuing a stablecoin, assessing whether such operations could be conducted legally and appropriately.
The undertaking is part of the Financial Services Agency’s (FSA) Payment Innovation Project. This specialized program was introduced to accelerate the development of blockchain-based payment innovations, operating within the existing FinTech Proof-of-Concept Hub, which has been a platform for fintech experiments since 2017.
Japan significantly clarified its regulatory landscape for stablecoins in 2023, enacting amendments to the Payment Services Act. These changes established a licensing regime for the issuance and distribution of fiat-pegged stablecoins. Under the new legislation, only licensed banks, registered money transfer agents, and trust companies are permitted to issue approved stablecoins. This regulatory clarity has since paved the way for several yen-backed stablecoin initiatives.
JPYC Inc. announced the launch of the nation’s first legally recognized yen-denominated stablecoin, JPYC, in October 2025. Following this, SBI Holdings and Startale Group unveiled JPYSC in February 2026, a yen stablecoin backed by a trust bank and intended for institutional and cross-border use cases. More recently, in May 2026, the Japan Blockchain Foundation announced its intention to issue a yen-pegged stablecoin, EJPY, on the Japan Open Chain and Ethereum networks.
The collaborative strategy adopted by the megabanks aligns with a surge in institutional stablecoin activity in Japan since regulatory clarity was achieved in 2023. In March 2025, USDC became the first dollar-pegged stablecoin to receive approval in Japan, issued by the cryptocurrency exchange SBI. Several months later, Ripple and SBI Holdings announced plans to introduce the RLUSD dollar-pegged stablecoin within the Japanese market.
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