Japan, in a historic move, launched the world’s first yen-pegged stablecoin to facilitate digital payments.
According to Reuters, Japan on Monday, October 27, unveiled the first-ever stablecoin pegged to the yen to “increase global interoperability.”
A Japanese startup, JPYC, issued stablecoins called JPYC in the country where consumers prefer traditional payments.
The JPYC can be easily exchanged for yen and is also supported by local savings and Japanese government bonds (JGBs).
CEO Noritaka Okabe told a press briefing, “We hope to spur innovation by giving startups access to low transaction and settlement fees. Increasing global interoperability would benefit us too, so we're open to capital tie-ups.”
The company has planned to issue 10 trillion yen ($66 billion) worth of JPYC over the period of the next three years, hoping that the digital currency will be used globally. Initially there are no plans of charging a transaction fee to encourage people to use it.
Meanwhile, Tomoyuki Shimoda, a former Bank of Japan executive, noted, “There's a lot of uncertainty on whether yen stablecoins will become widespread in Japan. If megabanks join the market, the pace could accelerate. But it could still take at least two to three years."
Notably, blockchain-based stablecoins are usually linked to a regular currency and allow faster and cheaper transactions.
As per the Bank for International Settlements, following strong support from US President Donald Trump, stablecoins linked to the US dollar, after rapid growth, now make up over 99% of all stablecoins globally.
