Japan’s Monex Group considers launching yen-pegged stablecoin

Tokyo-based publicly traded financial services company Monex Group is considering a Japanese yen-pegged stablecoin.

According to a Tuesday TV Tokyo report, Monex Group Chairman Oki Matsumoto told the outlet that the company is considering issuing a yen-pegged stablecoin in Japan.

“Issuing stablecoins requires significant infrastructure and capital, but if we don’t handle them, we’ll be left behind,” Masumoto said. He concluded:

“We will respond properly.”

Oki Matsumoto. Source: WikidataRelated: Japan’s finance Minister endorses crypto as portfolio diversifier

Monex’s upcoming stablecoin

Monex Group’s stablecoin, should it issue one, would be backed by assets such as Japanese government bonds. Like many other stablecoins, it would be redeemable 1:1 with yen and is expected to be used for purposes such as international remittances and corporate settlements.

The company plans to leverage its ownership of local crypto exchange Coincheck and its Monex securities brokerage to expand the initiative. Matsumoto further revealed that Monex is considering acquiring European crypto-related companies, hinting at a possible announcement “within a few days.”

Final negotiations for the acquisition of candidate European crypto companies are reportedly underway. This would further expand the Monex Group’s Western presence, following the public debut of Coincheck Group, Coincheck’s parent company, on the Nasdaq stock exchange at the end of last year.

Related: Japan’s ‘slow’ approval culture stifles crypto adoption: Expert

Japanese stablecoins are within arm’s reach

The news follows recent reports that Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is preparing to approve the issuance of Japanese yen-denominated stablecoins as early as this fall. This would be the first time the country has allowed a domestic fiat-pegged digital currency.

This follows Circle’s USD Coin (USDC), a US dollar-pegged stablecoin, being approved for use within Japan in late March. The report followed a cryptocurrency subsidiary of the Japanese financial conglomerate SBI developing support for USDC just as local stablecoin rules began softening.

The changes in the local stablecoin ecosystem started after Japan lifted the ban on foreign stablecoins in 2023. In February of this year, the FSA approved a report from a working group recommending policy changes that ease stablecoin-related regulations.

Magazine: Stablecoins in Japan and China, India mulls crypto tax changes: Asia Express

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