Japanese fintech firm JPYC is expected to receive regulatory approval from the Financial Services Agency (FSA) for its yen-backed stablecoin later this year, making it the first officially recognized issuance of its kind in Japan.

The company has already been operating a version of the token—also named JPYC—but will now bring it under the country’s stablecoin framework, with broader sales to individuals, corporations and institutional investors expected to begin once its registration as a money transfer business is completed.

JPYC aims to issue nearly $7 billion worth of the token within three years, according to a report by Nikkei.

Stablecoins around the world

Global hype around stablecoins has pushed their combined market capitalization to roughly $250 billion, attracting the attention of regulators and investors alike.

With the likes of Hong Kong and the U.S. rolling out stablecoin regulation over the last couple of months, regulators around the world are scrambling to catch up with surging interest.

That said, Japan’s stablecoin legislation came into effect in June 2023 under its Payment Services Act, with additional amendments broadening its scope submitted to the Diet in March this year.

Uptake has been slow. In March, Circle partnered with local exchange SBI Holdings to launch the first regulated dollar-pegged stablecoin in Japan.

And if its approval comes through, JPYC will be the only yen-backed regulated stablecoin in the country.

Aimed at being used for payments, including cross-border transfers, JPYC’s CEO, Noritaka Okabe, has been noticeably careful to distance the project from the cryptocurrency label, stressing in multiple posts on X that the token is an "electronic payment method" rather than a speculative crypto asset.

The JPYC stablecoin is "not a cryptocurrency," he tweeted on Sunday.

“It’s a currency-denominated asset whose value is linked to fiat currency, combining the best qualities of digital cash and deposits.”

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