SBI Group and Startale Launch Japan's First Trust-Regulated Yen Stablecoin

SBI Group and Startale Group launched JPYSC, a yen stablecoin backed through a trust bank structure. The token is processed by SBI Shinsei Trust Bank and distributed via SBI VC Trade, the group's crypto exchange. JPYSC is classified as an electronic payment instrument under Japanese law, a designation that exempts it from the 1 million yen transaction and balance caps applied to fund-transfer-type stablecoins, the companies said.

The regulatory distinction matters for anyone building on yen-denominated stablecoins in Japan. Fund-transfer-style tokens, like those issued by some domestic fintech firms, must report every transaction over a certain value and maintain strict balance limits per user. JPYSC sidesteps those constraints by holding the reserve in a trust bank structure. The issuer, not the user, takes on the reporting burden.

That structural advantage could push other Japanese stablecoin projects to adopt a similar trust-bank wrapper. GMO, for example, operates GMO Coin and has explored yen-backed tokens. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Bank has its own Progmat platform. Neither has yet launched a trust-licensed stablecoin that avoids the fund-transfer caps. JPYSC's debut pressures them to accelerate their timelines or risk ceding first-mover advantage in a market where institutional demand for compliant yen stablecoins is rising.