How close is the yen stablecoin the three megabanks spent a week working on to your wallet?
If seeing “Japan’s three megabanks are issuing a stablecoin” makes you want to jump in, hold that thought.
On October 16, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Mizuho Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation announced that, together with Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation and TISI, they had conducted a joint proof of concept for issuing a yen stablecoin from July 17 to 23. It had just one use case: cross-border settlements between Mitsubishi Corporation’s operations in Japan and overseas. The full process—from issuance and transfer to redemption—was tested.
The announcement is very clear: the trust assets will be managed as bank deposits, the stablecoin will circulate only among users whose identities have been verified by the banks, and this is merely “the design currently under consideration, which may change in the future.”
My take: this is an internal payment rail the banks are building for corporate clients, not a new betting table for retail investors. The announcement mentions neither trading pairs nor a launch plan. If anyone tries to sell you a coin under the banner of a “three-megabank stablecoin,” block them immediately.
There’s only one milestone worth watching: in June, they proposed starting actual transactions during fiscal 2026. The key question is whether that happens—and who will be able to use it.
If seeing “Japan’s three megabanks are issuing a stablecoin” makes you want to jump in, hold that thought.
On October 16, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Mizuho Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation announced that, together with Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation and TISI, they had conducted a joint proof of concept for issuing a yen stablecoin from July 17 to 23. It had just one use case: cross-border settlements between Mitsubishi Corporation’s operations in Japan and overseas. The full process—from issuance and transfer to redemption—was tested.
The announcement is very clear: the trust assets will be managed as bank deposits, the stablecoin will circulate only among users whose identities have been verified by the banks, and this is merely “the design currently under consideration, which may change in the future.”
My take: this is an internal payment rail the banks are building for corporate clients, not a new betting table for retail investors. The announcement mentions neither trading pairs nor a launch plan. If anyone tries to sell you a coin under the banner of a “three-megabank stablecoin,” block them immediately.
There’s only one milestone worth watching: in June, they proposed starting actual transactions during fiscal 2026. The key question is whether that happens—and who will be able to use it.