Japan’s Mega Banks Unite to Launch Yen-Backed Stablecoin Framework: Bloomberg
Japan’s three biggest banking groups — Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, and Mizuho Financial Group — are reportedly collaborating to launch a shared stablecoin framework, marking a major step toward digitizing interbank settlements and expanding institutional use of blockchain-based digital money.
According to a Friday report from Nikkei, the initiative will see the three megabanks create a common system for issuing and transferring stablecoins among their corporate clients. The tokens will be pegged to real-world currencies, beginning with the Japanese yen, with a U.S. dollar-pegged version potentially following at a later stage.
A Unified Banking Framework for Stablecoins
The report said the tokens will operate on a system that allows interoperability between banks under common technical and legal standards, enabling seamless transfers across participating institutions. This shared infrastructure aims to mirror existing fiat rails while taking advantage of blockchain’s speed, transparency, and programmability.
While the banks have not disclosed full details of the underlying technology, the move represents one of the most coordinated efforts by Japan’s financial giants to digitize money and modernize payments.
MUFG, in particular, has already been at the forefront of tokenization efforts through Progmat, its blockchain infrastructure and tokenization platform founded in 2023. Progmat is backed by a wide range of Japanese financial institutions and designed to support secure issuance of stablecoins and other digital assets.
Japan’s Expanding Stablecoin Ecosystem
The joint stablecoin initiative comes at a time when stablecoin adoption is accelerating worldwide, with nations introducing regulatory frameworks to accommodate blockchain-based payment instruments.
Globally, U.S. dollar-pegged tokens dominate the market — primarily Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC — which together make up the majority of the roughly $300 billion stablecoin sector.
Top stablecoins by market cap (Source: CoinMarketCap)
Japan’s financial sector has been moving steadily toward embracing regulated digital currencies. In August, fintech firm JPYC reportedly obtained a license from Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) to operate as a money transfer business — a critical step toward legally issuing its yen-backed stablecoin.
Meanwhile, SBI Holdings has announced plans to distribute Ripple’s U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin (RLUSD) in Japan as early as the first quarter of 2026, pending regulatory approval.
A Global Shift Toward Bank-Issued Stablecoins
Japan’s effort mirrors similar moves in other regions.
A group of nine European banks, including ING and UniCredit, is reportedly preparing to issue a euro-pegged stablecoin in an attempt to balance the dominance of U.S. dollar-backed tokens.
Additionally, major U.S. banks are also considering launching a joint stablecoin for domestic and cross-border payments.
As institutional confidence in blockchain-based money grows, Japan’s top banks appear poised to play a defining role in shaping the next era of regulated, interoperable stablecoins — potentially setting a model for digital financial collaboration across borders.
