Stablecoin Issuer Predicts Growing Presence in Japan’s Bond Market

Reuters

18:00 JST, November 12, 2025

TOKYO (Reuters) — Stablecoin issuers could become major buyers of Japanese government bonds in several years and influence the central bank’s control over monetary policy, the head of Japan’s first domestic issuer of yen-pegged stablecoins told Reuters.

Japanese startup JPYC began issuing stablecoins pegged to the yen — also called JPYC — on Oct. 27 in a significant move in a country where many consumers still prefer traditional payment methods such as cash and credit cards.

The company has rolled out about ¥143 million worth of JPYC so far with the number of account holders hitting 4,707 as of Nov. 12. It has said it aims to issue ¥10 trillion ($66.32 billion) worth of JPYC over three years.

While still a drop in the ocean of a $290-billion stablecoin market, JPYC will help the yen hold a presence in a rapidly growing digital market where stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar make up 99% of global supply, the company’s CEO Noritaka Okabe said in an interview on Tuesday.

“Various assets are now traded on blockchains real-time across the world. But the stablecoin market is dominated by the dollar, which is a disadvantage to Japanese firms that need to pay extra hedging and transaction costs,” he said on Tuesday.

“Japan must ensure the yen has a presence in the global stablecoin market,” Okabe said.

Blockchain-based stablecoins are typically pegged to a fiat currency and offer faster and cheaper transactions.

JPYC is fully convertible to the yen and backed by domestic savings and Japanese government bonds (JGBs). The company plans to invest 80% of its proceeds in JGBs and 20% in bank savings.

Given the rapid growth of stablecoins, issuers of the assets could become major buyers of bonds and in Japan help fill a hole left by the diminishing presence of the BOJ, Okabe said.