Binance Japan partners with MUFJ on stablecoin development

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, the largest banking group in Japan, and Binance Japan – the Japanese arm of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange – are collaborating to issue fiat-pegged stablecoins, the two companies announced in a joint press release on Tuesday.

See related article: MUFG enables the issuance of bank-backed stablecoins under new Japanese regulations

Brief information

• The partnership will leverage “Progmat Coin,” a stablecoin issuance and management platform operated by Mitsubishi’s trust bank. Originally announced in February 2022, the platform aims to support the issuance of Japanese yen-pegged stablecoins on public blockchains.
• Japanese regulators updated the country’s stablecoin rules in June.
• Progmat, Mitsubishi’s subsidiary behind the stablecoin platform, is backed by an alliance of major local banks including Mizuho Bank, SMBC and SBI Holdings.
• With the study, both companies plan to introduce new stablecoins pegged to the Japanese yen and other currencies.
• “We believe the new stablecoin from this collaboration will be a step forward in the advancement of Web 3.0,” said Tatsuya Saito, vice president of products at Mitsubishi UFJ and founder of Progmat, in the press release. “The impact of having the safest stablecoin functioning in this ecosystem is immeasurable.”
• Takeshi Chino, general manager of Binance Japan, said the partnership will play a “key role” in connecting the Japanese real economy, the blockchain space and the global Binance ecosystem in the future.
• “Stablecoins have important use cases in the broader financial ecosystem – from lower-cost and instant cross-border trade settlement for business customers to an on-ramp to seamlessly buy and sell other cryptocurrencies for retail investors,” Chino explained.
• The joint press release states that both companies plan to begin stablecoin operations by the end of 2024.
• Binance launched its Japanese subsidiary on August 1, 2023, marking its re-entry into the country, two years after it received a warning from the local financial regulator for failing to comply with registration requirements. Binance acquired the locally regulated platform Sakura Exchange BitCoin, which was renamed Binance Japan, in November last year.
• At its launch, Binance Japan offered 34 tokens, making it the largest exchange in Japan in terms of token offerings. This includes Binance’s native token BNB, which was traded in Japan for the first time.
• Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in power since late 2021, supports digital finance and the rollout of Web3 in Japan to revitalize the economy in what he calls “new capitalism.” Web3 refers to the latest wave of technological innovations leveraging blockchain technology, which includes cryptocurrencies, NFTs and the metaverse.

See related article: Binance Japan launches with 34 tokens, BNB debuts in the country