Japan's Three Megabanks Announce Plan for Joint Yen Stablecoin by March 2027
MUFG, SMBC and Mizuho will form a council to prepare frameworks for yen-pegged stablecoins. The move follows regulatory signals from Japan's FSA and the ruling LDP.
CoinDeskMitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group will jointly issue a stablecoin by March 2027. The three banks will establish a council to explore operational frameworks and prepare for the issuance, according to a statement published on MUFG's website.
The banks will act as joint settlors while a trust bank or similar institution will serve as trustee, the statement said.
The announcement came on June 10, 2026. Japan's Financial Services Agency signaled support for the development of a stablecoin by the three banks in November 2025. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party later said the state should promote the usage of yen-based stablecoins.
Stablecoins are digital tokens pegged to the value of a traditional financial asset, usually a fiat currency. The global stablecoin market totals $311 billion, with Tether's USDT and Circle Internet's USDC accounting for a combined 84% market share. Tokens pegged to the yen account for less than $50 million of that total.
The most prominent yen-pegged token is JPYC, which has a market cap of around $18 million and is issued by a Tokyo-based fintech of the same name.
