Summary:
- Japan Post Bank to launch country’s first yen-linked digital asset in 2026.
- Project will use DJPYC token, which was given the regulatory greenlight in August.
- DCJPY will be pegged to the yen at a 1:1 rate.
Japan Post Bank will launch a yen-linked digital asset by the end of FY 2026 in a push to modernize one of Japan’s most prominent financial institutions.
It will use DCJPY, a token offered by the digital transformation initiative DeCurrent DCP, which will be available for deposits to individual account holders. It will link to traditional savings accounts and is intended to offer holders the convenience of digital assets, including faster settlements and reduced transaction costs.
Tokens will be pegged at a 1:1 rate with the yen.
“Our tokenized deposit currency under consideration will offer instant, transparent transactions using blockchain technology,” reads a joint statement issued by Japan Post Bank and DeCurrent DCP.
The bank, which is majority-owned by the Japanese government, announced its plans this week. It currently holds roughly JPY190 trillion ($1.29 trillion) in deposits. As a postal bank, Japan Post Bank primarily offers basic financial services alongside postal offerings. The United States’ U.P.S. operated as a postal bank until 1967, but the model has largely disappeared in many countries.
The project would be the first approved stablecoin in Japan, with the regulatory Financial Services Agency (FSA) giving the greenlight to JPYC earlier this month. At the time, JPYC CEO Okabe Noritaka told Japanese news that he believes “stablecoins could grow to a scale far surpassing the bank transfer network.”
Japan has steadily warmed toward the idea of digitization, partly influenced by a prominent digital asset lobby. The country passed amendments to the Payment Services Act earlier this year, which relaxed requirements relating to stablecoins. Previously, stablecoin issuers were required to hold the full issuance value in demand deposits or similarly liquid instruments. The amendment, among other things, allows issuers to manage up to 50% of the issuance value in other low-risk assets.
Furthermore, in June, the FSA created a working group to explore digital assets and taxation proposals. Last week, Monex Group, the Tokyo-based securities firm, revealed it was also considering a yen-backed stablecoin
For DeCurrent DCP, it’s the latest in a series of partnerships aiming to bring the benefits of blockchain technology and digital assets to the mainstream.
In March, it announced it held discussions with the largest economic consulting firm in Japan concerning digital asset initiatives, particularly the issuance of a digital bond and a security settlement system using digital currency.
In 2024, it partnered with Internet Initiative Japan and GMO Aozora Net Bank to offer tokenized representations of ‘environmental values and settlement transactions’.
Watch: Richard Baker on engineering a smarter financial world with blockchain
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Source: https://coingeek.com/yen-pegged-tokens-in-the-works-at-japan-post-bank/
