Japan's stablecoin race has a new heavyweight. SBI Holdings and Startale Group announced JPYSC on February 27, 2026, the first Japanese yen stablecoin issued by a trust bank. Shinsei Trust and Banking, a subsidiary of SBI Shinsei Bank, will handle issuance and reserve custody, while SBI VC Trade will serve as the primary distribution channel. The target launch is Q2 2026.
What separates JPYSC from every other yen stablecoin attempt in Japan is its regulatory architecture. By issuing through a trust bank rather than a fund transfer company, JPYSC sidesteps the 1 million yen ($6,600) domestic remittance cap that constrains competing stablecoins. That single structural decision positions it for enterprise-grade volume from day one.
The Trust Bank Advantage That Changes the Math
Japan's 2023 Payment Services Act update created a framework for licensed financial institutions to issue fiat-backed stablecoins, but the details of that framework matter enormously. Stablecoins issued by fund transfer companies face hard remittance limits. Trust bank issuance does not.
JPYSC is classified as a Type III Electronic Payment Instrument, a category designed for fiat-referenced tokens issued by licensed entities under defined oversight. Type III is suited to larger-volume enterprise transactions with enhanced governance expectations, meaning JPYSC was built for corporate settlement workflows, not consumer micropayments.
Shinsei Trust and Banking handles reserve custody and asset segregation. SBI VC Trade, SBI's licensed crypto exchange, manages distribution and circulation. Startale Group, led by CEO Sota Watanabe, provides the underlying smart contract architecture, APIs, and security infrastructure.
SBI Holdings CEO Yoshitaka Kitao framed the initiative in characteristically ambitious terms: JPYSC will "serve as the foundation for Japan's transition into a token economy."
Where JPYSC Fits in the Crowded Yen Race
SBI is not the first to attempt a regulated yen stablecoin. The competitive landscape is dense and accelerating.
JPYC, issued by Tokyo-based fintech JPYC Inc., became Japan's first regulated yen-backed stablecoin in late 2025 after receiving FSA approval. It is pegged 1:1 to the yen and backed by bank deposits and government bonds. MUFG, Japan's largest bank, partnered with JPYC to support distribution and liquidity.
Meanwhile, Japan's three mega-banks, MUFG, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC), and Mizuho Bank, received FSA approval for a joint stablecoin initiative running on MUFG's Progmat platform. The consortium plans to issue 1 trillion yen ($6.6 billion) worth of stablecoins over the next three years. Progmat supports multiple public blockchains including Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, and Cosmos.
SMBC has separately partnered with Ava Labs and Fireblocks on its own JPY-pegged coin. Japan Post Bank is working on DCJPY, a tokenized yen deposit. And Ripple and SBI are targeting early 2026 for RLUSD distribution in Japan.
What SBI brings with JPYSC is a vertically integrated stack: the trust bank issues, the exchange distributes, and the technology partner builds. No consortium negotiations. No multi-bank governance overhead. SBI controls the pipeline end to end.
Enterprise Rails, Not Retail Payments
Watanabe's framing of JPYSC is explicitly enterprise-first. "Our yen-denominated stablecoin is not just a means of everyday payment," the Startale Group CEO said. "It will play a central role in a fully onchain world." He pointed to AI agent payments and tokenized asset distributions as primary use cases, not retail spending.
The target applications are cross-border settlement, tokenized asset transactions, and programmable finance. For a company that already operates B2C2 (one of crypto's largest institutional market makers) and Osaka Digital Exchange (Japan's only regulated secondary market for security tokens), JPYSC fills a missing piece: the on-chain settlement layer that ties SBI's existing institutional infrastructure together.
This is the same SBI that launched a ¥10 billion on-chain bond just six days ago. The bond settles on-chain, trades on Osaka Digital Exchange, and pays rewards in XRP. JPYSC gives that bond, and future tokenized securities, a native yen settlement rail.
What This Means for the Broader Stablecoin Market
Japan's approach to stablecoin regulation has diverged sharply from the US model. Where American regulators are still debating the GENIUS Act and whether banks should issue stablecoins at all, Japan has a working framework with multiple licensed issuers already in the pipeline.
The practical effect is a regulated stablecoin market that could reach trillions of yen in circulation within two years, anchored by institutions that collectively manage assets worth hundreds of trillions of yen. SBI Holdings alone carries a market cap of approximately $15 billion and operates across financial services, crypto exchange, and digital asset infrastructure.
For the broader ecosystem, JPYSC's enterprise focus creates a potential on-ramp for institutional capital into DeFi. A trust bank-issued stablecoin with full reserve custody and regulatory compliance removes many of the objections that have kept Japanese institutional money on the sidelines. Cross-border settlement rails denominated in regulated yen could compete directly with SWIFT for intra-Asian trade flows.
For crypto card users, the downstream effect is indirect but meaningful. Cards that support stablecoin spending currently operate almost exclusively in USD-pegged stablecoins like USDC and USDT. A liquid, regulated JPY stablecoin creates the conditions for yen-denominated crypto card products, zero FX conversion for Japanese users, and programmable payroll flows that settle directly to a card balance.
The Q2 Timeline and What Could Stall It
JPYSC's launch remains subject to regulatory approvals, and Q2 2026 is a target, not a commitment. Japan's FSA has shown willingness to approve stablecoin projects, having already greenlit JPYC and the mega-bank consortium, but each approval involves review of reserve management, AML controls, and technical infrastructure.
The trust bank structure should smooth the regulatory path. Shinsei Trust and Banking already operates under banking supervision, meaning the reserve custody and segregation requirements are built into its existing compliance framework rather than layered on top of a crypto-native entity.
If JPYSC launches on schedule, it would enter a market where JPYC already has first-mover advantage in retail and the mega-bank consortium has a ¥1 trillion issuance roadmap. SBI's bet is that vertical integration and enterprise focus will carve out a distinct lane, one where the stablecoin is not the product itself but the settlement layer for a broader tokenized financial ecosystem.
FAQ
What is JPYSC? JPYSC is a Japanese yen stablecoin developed jointly by SBI Holdings and Startale Group. It will be issued by Shinsei Trust and Banking, making it the first trust bank-backed yen stablecoin in Japan. It is classified as a Type III Electronic Payment Instrument.
When will JPYSC launch? The target launch is Q2 2026, subject to regulatory approval from Japan's Financial Services Agency.
How is JPYSC different from JPYC? JPYC is issued by a fintech company under fund transfer regulations and is designed for retail use. JPYSC is issued by a trust bank, which exempts it from the 1 million yen domestic remittance cap, positioning it for enterprise-grade volumes and institutional settlement.
What blockchain will JPYSC use? Specific blockchain details have not been disclosed. Startale Group is handling the smart contract development, API integration, and security systems.
Who is Startale Group? Startale Group is a Singapore-based Web3 company led by CEO Sota Watanabe. The company serves as the technology partner for JPYSC, handling smart contract architecture and ecosystem development.
Overview
SBI Holdings and Startale Group have unveiled JPYSC, a yen stablecoin issued by Shinsei Trust and Banking under Japan's Type III Electronic Payment Instrument framework. The trust bank structure bypasses the remittance caps that limit competitor stablecoins, positioning JPYSC for enterprise use cases including cross-border settlement, tokenized asset transactions, and programmable finance. With a Q2 2026 launch target, JPYSC enters a competitive landscape alongside JPYC, the mega-bank Progmat consortium, and multiple other yen stablecoin projects. SBI's vertically integrated stack, spanning issuance, distribution through SBI VC Trade, and technology via Startale, gives it a distinct structural advantage in Japan's accelerating stablecoin race.
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