Japan’s SBI Group Flips the Stablecoin Script With $63M-Backed JPYSC Launch

What JPYSC Is and How It Works

The token is issued by SBI Shinsei Trust Bank and distributed through SBI VC Trade, the group’s crypto exchange. It carries a 1:1 peg to the Japanese yen, with reserves held in segregated accounts. Token holders receive statutory trust beneficiary rights, meaning their holdings are ring-fenced from the issuer’s balance sheet under Japan’s Trust Act.

Reserves can include deposits and up to 50% in Japanese Government Bonds, opening a potential yield channel that earlier prepaid stablecoin models cannot offer.

Why the Trust Bank Structure Matters

JPYSC is classified as a Type III Electronic Payment Instrument under Japan’s amended Payment Services Act. That classification carries no daily or remittance caps, unlike the Type II prepaid model used by competing yen stablecoin JPYC, which faces a 1 million yen daily limit.

Japan became the first G7 country to pass comprehensive stablecoin legislation through its 2022 Payment Services Act and Banking Act amendments. JPYSC is the first token to use the trust-bank framework that those laws created.

Who Built It and How Fast

SBI Holdings and Startale signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in December 2025. By February 2026, Startale had unveiled Strium L1, an institutional blockchain expected to serve as the primary settlement layer for JPYSC. In March, Startale closed a $63 million Series A, with SBI leading at $50 million and Sony contributing $13 million.

SBI VC Trade began distributing Ripple‘s RLUSD in March 2026, validating the distribution infrastructure before JPYSC went live.

Target Use Cases

JPYSC is built for institutional and enterprise use, not retail. Primary targets include:

• Corporate treasury management and high- volume settlements
• Cross-border payments with reduced foreign exchange volatility
• Tokenized real-world asset issuance and settlement
• On-chain dividend distribution
• AI agent payment rails

SBI Chairman Yoshitaka Kitao said the project aims to accelerate “digital financial services that are fully integrated with traditional finance.” Startale CEO Sota Watanabe pointed to AI agent infrastructure and tokenized assets as core long-term use cases.

What’s Next

Initial availability is limited to SBI VC Trade accounts. Broader on-chain circulation depends on tax treatment clarity and public blockchain migration, which Startale has said is technically ready. The likely destination is Strium L1, with potential multi-chain support including Soneium, a chain Startale co-developed with Sony.

Competition is forming. A consortium of Japanese megabanks including MUFG, Mizuho, and SMBC is building a yen stablecoin through the Progmat platform, targeting interbank live deployment by March 2027.