SBI and Startale Group Launch Japan’s First Trust-Based Yen (JPYSC) Stablecoin

On June 24, SBI Group and Startale Group launched JPYSC, the country’s first trust-based yen stablecoin. The launch comes as countries and financial institutions worldwide race to build regulated stablecoin infrastructure. 

While most of the stablecoin market is dominated by dollar-backed tokens like USDT and USDC, Japan is now making a serious push for the digital yen economy.

Japan Launches First Trust-Based (JPYSC) Stablecoin

Unlike most stablecoins, JPYSC is issued by SBI Shinsei Trust Bank, with reserves held and managed through a trust structure.

According to SBI, JPYSC is the first trust-based yen stablecoin recognized as an “electronic payment method” under Japan’s Payment Services Act.

More importantly, there are no limits on transaction size or account balances, making it suitable for large institutional transfers, tokenized asset settlements, and corporate transactions.

SBI Holdings Chairman Yoshitaka Kitao called the launch a necessary step as financial markets increasingly move on-chain.

“The transition of financial functions to on-chain is irreversible, creating payment methods that can be used on-chain is a challenge that must be addressed as quickly as possible.”

Use Cases of JPYSC Expected After Public Migration

Meanwhile, SBI and Startale are not just positioning JPYSC as another payment token. Instead, they want it to become the settlement layer for Japan’s growing tokenization market.

Planned use cases of JPYSC include:

• Yen-to-dollar liquidity pools for on-chain foreign exchange markets.
• Lending and borrowing markets for institutional investors.
• Settlement of tokenized stocks, bonds, real estate, and fund shares.
• Business payments and merchant settlements.
• Cross-border remittances with lower costs and faster settlement.
• Large OTC transactions and institutional trading.

This means that SBI wants JPYSC to become the digital version of the yen for blockchain-based finance.

Startale Group: Launch Is Just the Beginning

At launch, JPYSC can only be used within SBI VC Trade accounts and cannot yet move to external wallets.

However, Startale CEO Sota Watanabe said,

“On-chain finance is a global trend, and we recognize it as an extremely important strategic area for Japan.”

The technical infrastructure for public blockchain transfers is already complete. The remaining hurdles involve taxation rules and regulatory approvals. That matters because tokenization is rapidly expanding worldwide, while stablecoins already process trillions of dollars annually. 

With the U.S. advancing stablecoin legislation and institutions increasingly exploring tokenized assets, Japan is racing to ensure the yen remains relevant in the next generation of financial infrastructure.