SBI Holdings Launches JPYSC: Japan’s First Trust-Based Yen Stablecoin Is Now Live

After months of preparation, regulatory groundwork, and institutional anticipation, Japan’s most powerful financial conglomerate has crossed the finish line — and the implications reach well beyond Japan’s borders.

On June 24, 2026, SBI Holdings, together with fintech partner Startale Group, officially launched JPYSC — Japan’s first yen stablecoin issued under a trust-bank model. SBI Group and Startale launched JPYSC on Wednesday, processing the first issuance through SBI Shinsei Trust Bank and SBI VC Trade. The announcement, published simultaneously on SBI’s official newsroom and across global crypto media, confirms what Japan’s financial establishment has been building toward since 2022: a fully regulated, institutional-grade digital yen fit for the modern financial system.

This is not a pilot programme or a proof of concept. JPYSC is live, distributed through a licensed exchange, and backed by a trust structure that places it in a regulatory category no previous Japanese stablecoin has occupied.

What Makes JPYSC Different From Every Other Yen Stablecoin

The Trust-Bank Model Explained

The defining feature of JPYSC is its legal and structural architecture. SBI described JPYSC as Japan’s first yen stablecoin with reserves managed by a trust bank. JPYSC has also been recognised as an electronic payment instrument under Japan’s Payment Services Act. As a result, it is not subject to the 1 million-yen per-transaction cap applied to existing yen stablecoins.

That last point is critical for institutional adoption. Japan’s earlier yen stablecoin frameworks classified issuers under fund-transfer licensing, which imposed hard limits on transaction values and balances — limits that made large corporate settlements, block trades, and treasury operations practically impossible. JPYC launched Japan’s first Payment Services Act-approved yen stablecoin in October 2025 under a Type 2 money transfer licence, but a 1 million yen cap applies to remittances and balances in Japan. SBI’s trust-based classification has no such ceiling, opening a path for use in corporate fund settlement and large-scale institutional trading.

Reserve Structure: Safety Built Into the Architecture

Under the trust bank model, token holders have beneficial interests in the trust. Reserves are kept in segregated accounts at SBI Shinsei Trust Bank and, under the Trust Act, are separated from the finances of the issuer and the trust bank.

To maintain a strict 1:1 peg, reserves consist of physical Japanese Yen deposits and highly liquid Japanese Government Bonds. Following a 2025 regulatory update, trust-based issuers can invest up to 50% of reserves in short-term government bonds, ensuring the stablecoin remains liquid while maintaining full collateralisation.

This architecture directly addresses the counterparty and insolvency risks that have plagued offshore stablecoins — and that concern has historically kept Japanese institutions on the sidelines.

How JPYSC Works: The Full Ecosystem

Issuance, Distribution, and Technology

Reserve assets will be managed by an SBI-affiliated trust bank, while distribution and circulation will be handled by SBI VC Trade, a licensed cryptocurrency exchange in Japan.

Startale Group, the Singapore-based fintech behind the project’s technical architecture, brings deep blockchain expertise to the table. Startale Group, as the designated core partner, leads the technical development. The company is also the operator of Astar Network and co-developer of Sony’s Ethereum layer-2 Soneium.

Startale raised $63 million in a Series A round that included $50 million from SBI and $13 million from Sony at the end of March, with the funds allocated to the development of JPYSC and the dollar stablecoin USDSC.

The distribution infrastructure was already battle-tested before JPYSC launched. SBI VC Trade completed Japan’s first registration as an electronic payment instrument exchange business in March 2025 and listed Ripple’s RLUSD in March this year. If JPYSC is issued, it can immediately use its in-house distribution channel.

Initial Availability and Roadmap

For now, JPYSC is available only to account holders at SBI VC Trade. SBI plans to expand access once Japan’s regulatory framework becomes clearer. SBI also plans to launch a JPYSC lending service in the near future.

SBI said it plans to use JPYSC in on-chain foreign exchange markets, institutional lending, and RWA tokenisation, and later expand lending services and user access.

Expert Opinions: What Industry Leaders Are Saying

Yoshitaka Kitao, SBI Holdings Chairman: Accelerating the Future

The highest-level signal of SBI’s long-term commitment came from its chairman. Yoshitaka Kitao, chairman of SBI, said the project will dramatically accelerate the trend of providing digital financial services fully integrated with traditional finance. X

That framing — integration rather than disruption — is deliberate. Japan’s financial establishment does not embrace blockchain technology because it is novel. It embraces it when the technology can improve specific, measurable outcomes within a compliant framework. JPYSC’s design philosophy reflects that directly.

Sota Watanabe, Startale CEO: AI Agents and Tokenised Assets

Startale’s chief executive offered a forward-looking perspective on where JPYSC’s most consequential use cases lie. “Startale’s mission is to build the next civilization by bringing the world onchain,” Watanabe said. “In particular, we see enormous potential in enabling payments between AI agents and powering distributions for tokenized assets, both of which will soon become reality.”

The mention of AI agent payments is not incidental. As autonomous AI systems begin managing real-world financial operations — executing trades, settling invoices, managing treasury positions — they require a programmable, machine-readable settlement layer. A regulated yen stablecoin fits that role precisely.

Crypto Briefing: An Institutional Credibility Benchmark

Crypto Briefing noted that a trust-based stablecoin issued by a subsidiary of SBI Holdings carries a level of credibility that most crypto-native stablecoins cannot match, lowering the barrier for institutional investors who have been cautious about entering the stablecoin space.

That credibility premium matters enormously in Asia’s financial markets, where institutional participation has repeatedly been held back not by technical barriers but by the absence of legally robust, bank-issued instruments.

Japan’s Stablecoin Race Is Now Officially On

The Megabanks Are Following

SBI’s launch has not occurred in isolation. Japan’s three largest banking groups are close behind with their own plans. Japan’s three megabanks — Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., and Mizuho Bank — are also jointly pursuing a stablecoin launch.

MUFG, Mizuho, and SMBC launched a joint stablecoin consultative body on June 10 and set a goal of starting interbank real transactions by March 31, 2027, based on the Progmat platform. They also use the same Type 3 trust-based electronic payment instrument classification as JPYSC, but chose a joint issuance structure by multiple banks rather than a single company.

The convergence of multiple major institutions around the same regulatory classification signals that Japan’s stablecoin infrastructure is being built with long-term interoperability in mind.

Japan’s First-Mover Regulatory Advantage

Japan’s lead in regulated stablecoin infrastructure reflects deliberate policy choices made years ago. Japan was the first among the Group of Seven nations in 2022 to establish a comprehensive stablecoin legal framework. With enforcement rules also completed on June 13, the final regulatory requirement needed for issuing new electronic payment instruments has been resolved.

The technical development of JPYSC began when Startale Group signed a memorandum of understanding with SBI Holdings back in December 2025. The project is designed for use in global settlements and tokenized asset transactions, two areas where having a compliant, yen-based digital instrument could genuinely matter.

What JPYSC Means for the Global Stablecoin Market

The launch of JPYSC arrives at a moment when the global stablecoin market is in rapid transition. USD-pegged stablecoins like USDT and USDC continue to dominate, but their dominance reflects the absence of viable, regulated alternatives in other major currencies — not an inherent preference for dollar-denominated instruments.

The introduction of JPYSC marks a significant transition in Japan’s digital finance strategy, moving from experimental retail tokens toward institutional-grade infrastructure. By integrating the regulatory oversight of SBI Shinsei Trust Bank with the blockchain expertise of Startale Group, the project establishes a compliant framework for high-volume settlements, tokenised assets, and autonomous AI transactions. This partnership effectively positions the Japanese yen as a viable, regulated competitor in a global stablecoin market currently dominated by USD-pegged assets.

For crypto investors, blockchain developers, and traditional finance professionals alike, June 24, 2026 marks the day Japan moved from planning to execution — and the world’s third-largest economy now has the infrastructure to prove that regulated digital currency can work at institutional scale.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always conduct your own research before making any investment decisions.