“Progmat Tatsuya Saito x JPYC Noritaka Okabe” Exclusive talk session for out magazine What will the two talk about in the first year of stablecoin social implementation?

With the revision of the law regarding stablecoins in June 2023, the Web 3.0 field in Japan is about to reach a major turning point.

Since the law was revised, various companies and financial institutions have become more active in stablecoin-related fields, and full-scale use is expected to begin in 2024.

While there are many companies in Japan, the ones that are attracting particular attention in the stablecoin field are Progmat and JPYC.

Both companies are truly leading the way in Japan's stablecoins. This time, we set up an opportunity for a conversation between Mr. Tatsuya Saito and Mr. Noritaka Okabe, who lead these two companies, and talked about the future of both companies, the future of Japan's stable coins, and how they see Web 3.0 in 2024. received.

Top runners talk about the future of stable coins

It is no exaggeration to say that Progmat and JPYC are the two companies whose trends are attracting the most attention in the Japanese stablecoin field, but what is the background behind their collaboration and the announcement? Please tell us what impressed you during the process.

Tatsuya Saito (hereinafter referred to as Saito): I first met Mr. Okabe at "B Dash Camp" held in Sapporo last May.

Mr. Okabe and I held a session on stable coins, and from there we had a series of opportunities to speak on stage together.

Our relationship particularly deepened when we dined together at the eve of WebX in the summer. I suggested, "Maybe we can do this together?" and we hit it off. Then, the topic of "trust-type JPYC" came up.

Since we were in a unique position to support issuers with trust and infrastructure rather than issuers themselves, we thought we might be able to collaborate.

I did think that if the reaction was lukewarm... well, there is nothing I can do (laughs). I'd felt this way since we first met in Sapporo, but Okabe-san is a very open-minded person and took a very positive approach.

Noritaka Okabe (hereinafter Okabe): From the moment I met him in Sapporo, I had the impression that Mr. Saito was from the Web3.0 side. At the time, Mr. Saito was still working for Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking, so I personally was hoping that he would jump right in and start his own business (laughs).

I thought that if he jumped out, I might be able to team up with him.

However, it is difficult to issue trust-type stable coins on public chains, and there were concerns that there might be transfer restrictions in some cases.

At that time, I didn't know much about trust-type issuance, so I felt that it was a hurdle. At that time, I was talking with Mr. Saito, and when I learned that it seemed possible to issue the book flexibly, I thought, "Then there's no reason not to do it."

We currently have a 99% domestic share of stablecoins. If we do not issue a trust-type bond and another company issues it instead, our market share will suffer accordingly.

With that in mind, there was no option not to do it.

By the way, we believe in the future of public chains. Therefore, if Progma did not support public chains, I don't think the collaboration would have materialized.

Saito: When I think about it, the most memorable moment was when we talked while eating together. We started talking and things started around the summer, so I think the announcement of the collaboration was pretty quick.

Okabe: There were no particular obstacles, and things went smoothly even down to adjusting the presentation schedule.

Saito: Also, this is a personal story, but after I made Progma independent, I started posting on SNS in earnest.

I tried not to touch it when I was a banker, so I guess you could say that gave me wings of freedom (lol). We have been issuing press releases from time to time, but the background has become complicated, and sometimes it is difficult to convey our true intentions just by reading the contents of the release.

Therefore, I try to provide explanations in my own words through SNS.

The same goes for our collaboration with JPYC. From the perspective of those who watch it, I think it's a collaboration that could be confusing.

People in the existing financial industry might feel like, "Oh, so we're partnering with that company," and conversely, I think that Okabe's fans might feel like, "Are we partnering with that centralized Progmat?" (laughs)

Okabe: There must have been some people who thought, "Have we finally fallen into the hands of centralized power?" (lol)

Saito: Intuitively, I felt that unless we thoroughly explained this collaboration, there would be more negative reactions than positive. That's why I wanted to convey the story in an easy-to-understand and accurate manner, including the underlying background information.