Crypto exchange Binance and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (MUTB) will jointly explore opportunities for issuing stablecoins pegged to the Japanese yen and other foreign currencies in Japan.
Binance has partnered with Japan’s largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation. A press release reveals that the companies will test the possibility of issuing stablecoins in Japan.
The local Payments Services Act, which came into effect in June 2023, allows Japanese banks and licensed digital asset service providers to issue stablecoins. Binance and MUTB will conduct a joint study to test the possibility of creating various stablecoins tied to the Japanese yen and other fiat currencies through the Progmat Coin platform.
The infrastructure for issuing stablecoins was launched by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) a few months ago, although its development took several years.
According to Takeshi Chino, General Manager of Binance Japan, the collaboration will test the Progmat Coin platform in supporting the issuance of stablecoins on various blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, Cosmos, and BNB Chain. He believes stablecoins play an important role in the financial ecosystem as they can provide lower costs and instant international transfers for businesses, as well as simplify crypto transactions for retail users.
Tatsuya Saito, VP of Product at MUFG, said the Japanese stablecoin market holds the potential to grow to 5 trillion yen ($34 billion), which is over a quarter of the current stablecoin market cap. As of 13:00 (GMT+3), September 26, the market cap stands at $123.6 billion, CoinGecko reports.
Recently, it became known that Binance may have to stop listing stablecoins in Europe due to the tightening of local regulation.
