Japan Unveils First Trust Bank-Backed Yen Stablecoin
Tokyo, Japan – Japan has officially launched its first yen-denominated stablecoin backed by a trust bank, marking a significant development in the nation’s digital asset landscape. JPYSC, issued by SBI Shinsei Trust Bank and distributed exclusively through SBI VC Trade, began trading today, June 24.
Developed jointly by the SBI Group and Startale Group, JPYSC is pegged 1:1 to the Japanese yen. Crucially, it is classified as an electronic payment instrument under Japan’s Payment Services Act and, unlike previous attempts at yen stablecoins in the domestic market, carries no transaction cap.
A New Era for Yen Stablecoins
Prior stablecoins in Japan, operating under a fund-transfer framework, were limited to a 1 million yen ceiling for both transactions and balances. This restriction confined their utility primarily to retail payments. JPYSC’s removal of this cap opens the door for institutional-scale on-chain settlement, transactions involving tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), and cross-border foreign exchange use cases that were previously structurally unfeasible.
Trust Law Backing and Regulatory Pathway
The key differentiator for JPYSC within Japan’s crypto regulatory framework lies in its issuance architecture. SBI Shinsei Trust Bank holds reserve assets, including cash and highly liquid yen-denominated instruments, in a segregated trust account. This structure grants JPYSC holders a direct legal claim under trust law to the underlying yen.
The stablecoin’s classification as an electronic payment instrument under the Payment Services Act reflects this robust structure. Japan’s revised regulatory framework established a specific legal pathway for trust bank-issued stablecoins, and JPYSC is the first to emerge through this route.
Global Collaboration and Future Potential
Singapore-based Startale Group, a co-developer alongside SBI, provided the blockchain infrastructure and developer tooling for JPYSC. Sota Watanabe, CEO of Startale, described the token as essential infrastructure enabling “Japanese retail users, enterprises, and global financial institutions” to conduct on-chain transactions.
“We received approval from the JFSA and issued the first bank-backed JPY stablecoin on Ethereum,” a representative from the project stated. “On day one, we issued approximately $70 million, and we plan to scale further. This is an internal launch; withdrawals to Ethereum and other chains from the SBI exchange will be possible following regulatory clearance.”
Outpacing Competitors
While JPYC received approval in October 2025 as Japan’s first legally recognized yen stablecoin, it operated under the fund-transfer framework with its 1 million yen cap. Japan’s three major banks – MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho – are jointly developing their own stablecoin, with plans to commence commercial transactions in fiscal year 2026. JPYSC has preempted this initiative with a structural advantage not yet publicly matched by the megabank project.
Startale has outlined a multi-chain architecture for JPYSC, targeting deployment across various public chains via Sony-backed infrastructure. If realized, this would further distinguish the token. A single-chain yen stablecoin functions as a payment rail; however, a multi-chain stablecoin with no transaction cap and trust-law reserve backing positions itself as foundational settlement infrastructure for Japan’s burgeoning on-chain financial market.
Phased Rollout and Future Applications
Initial access to JPYSC is currently limited to holders of SBI VC Trade accounts. SBI has indicated this restriction will remain until the regulatory and tax treatment is fully clarified, a prudent approach for a novel financial instrument. This phased rollout, however, means the token’s near-term addressable market is confined to SBI’s existing exchange clientele.
SBI VC Trade has announced plans to introduce a JPYSC lending service in the near future, which would add yield-generating capabilities to the settlement instrument and potentially accelerate institutional adoption. The tokenized RWA use case is considered a more significant long-term prospect. A yen-denominated stablecoin with no cap and trust-law backing is a natural settlement layer for Japan’s growing pipeline of tokenized securities, real estate, and structured products.
The global regulatory trajectory for stablecoins underscores the importance of JPYSC’s structure. Ripple’s RLUSD, for instance, secured MiCA approval in the EU based on its regulated, reserve-backed design. Regulatory legitimacy is increasingly a prerequisite for stablecoins targeting institutional capital flows, and JPYSC appears to meet this standard within the Japanese regulatory framework.
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