Japan’s Regulator to Approve First Yen-Denominated Token, Issued by JPYC

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) will approve the first yen-denominated stablecoin as early as this fall, according to a Nihon Keizai Shimbun report on Sunday.

Fintech company JPYC will register as a money transfer business with the FSA, paving the way for the approval of the first yen stablecoin. JPYC’s stablecoin is built to maintain a 1:1 peg with the currency and is backed by liquid assets such as bank deposits and government bonds.

Stablecoins are digital assets that track the value of a traditional financial asset such as a fiat currency. The largest stablecoins such as Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC are pegged to the dollar, but there are a growing number of tokens that track other currencies such as the euro.

Stablecoins have been at the forefront of regulatory advancements of digital assets this year, with major jurisdictions such as the U.S. and Hong Kong introducing regimes for their licensing and oversight.

Neither the FSA nor JPYC responded to CoinDesk’s request for comment.