Tokyo, Japan – In a groundbreaking collaboration, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, Japan’s largest banking group, and Binance Japan, the Japanese arm of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, have announced their joint venture to issue fiat-pegged stablecoins. This significant partnership was unveiled via a joint press release on Tuesday.
The endeavor will leverage “Progmat Coin,” a platform spearheaded by Mitsubishi’s trust bank, designed for stablecoin issuance and management. This platform, initially introduced in February 2022, is geared toward facilitating the issuance of stablecoins pegged to the Japanese Yen on public blockchains.
This collaborative effort follows recent updates to Japan’s stablecoin regulations in June, enhancing the regulatory framework within which such digital assets operate.
Mitsubishi’s subsidiary, Progmat, responsible for the stablecoin platform, enjoys the support of a consortium of major local banks, including Mizuho Bank, SMBC, and SBI Holdings. Under this partnership, both entities are actively exploring the creation of new stablecoins linked to the Japanese Yen and various other currencies.
Tatsuya Saito, Vice President of Mitsubishi UFJ and the founder of Progmat, expressed optimism about the collaboration, stating, “We believe that the new stablecoin from this collaboration will be a step forward in advancing the Web 3.0. The impact of having the most secure stablecoin functioning within this ecosystem is immeasurable.”
Takeshi Chino, General Manager of Binance Japan, underscored the pivotal role this partnership will play in connecting Japan’s real economy, the blockchain sector, and the global Binance ecosystem in the future. Chino noted, “Stablecoins have important use cases in the broader financial ecosystem – from a lower-cost and instantaneous cross-border trade settlement for business clients, to an on and off-ramp to buy and sell other cryptocurrencies seamlessly for retail investors.”
According to the joint press release, both companies are targeting the commencement of stablecoin operations by the end of 2024.
Binance made its re-entry into the Japanese market on August 1, 2023, two years after receiving a warning from local financial regulators for failing to comply with registration requirements. Binance’s acquisition of the regulated local platform, Sakura Exchange BitCoin, in November of the previous year has since been rebranded as Binance Japan.
Binance Japan’s launch saw the offering of 34 tokens, making it the largest exchange in Japan by token offerings, including Binance’s native token BNB, which traded for the first time in Japan.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in office since late 2021, is actively advocating for digital finance and Web3 adoption in Japan to reinvigorate the economy in what he terms “new capitalism.” Web3 encompasses the latest wave of technology innovations leveraging blockchain technology, including cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and the metaverse.
