[NEWS] SBI partners with US Circle to handle stablecoin USDC

On the 27th, SBI Holdings announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Circle, a US company that issues USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin backed by the US dollar.

The two companies aim to circulate USD Coin in Japan, open Circle bank accounts, and popularize Web 3.0-related services.

In addition, they also announced that they plan to handle USD Coin at SBI VC Trade, a domestic cryptocurrency exchange that is aiming to register as an electronic payment instrument trading business, subject to regulatory approval. SBI VC Trade is expected to complete its registration as an electronic payment instrument trading business sometime in 2024, after which it will begin handling USD Coin.

In addition, SBI Shinsei Bank plans to provide banking services to Circle in Japan through the opening of an account. This is expected to improve access to USD Coin and liquidity for users, including businesses in Japan.

In addition, SBI explained that as part of its digital asset-related strategy, the two companies have also agreed to collaborate to provide various Web 3.0-related systems, such as Circle's programmable wallet, blockchain infrastructure, and smart contract management tools.

Regarding this partnership, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said, "This is an important milestone in our expansion plans in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region." He continued, "Through these efforts, the SBI Group and Circle will work hard to expand stablecoin use cases in Japan."

SBI Chairman and CEO Yoshitaka Kitao stated, "In Japan, the groundwork for the full-scale introduction of stablecoins is steadily being laid, with stablecoin-related systems being established under the revised Payment Services Act, which came into effect in June 2023." He added, "The SBI Group would like to work hard to realize new finance using stablecoins."

Accelerating movement around stablecoins in Japan

USD Coin, issued by Circle, is known as one of the world's leading stablecoins, with a cumulative total of over 12.7 trillion dollars (approximately 1,880 trillion yen) traded as of November 17. It is second only to Tether (USDT) in terms of market capitalization of stablecoins in the cryptocurrency market.

The revised Payment Services Act, which came into effect in June this year, defined the handling of legal tender-backed stablecoins. As a result, the movement around stablecoins is now active.

On the 6th of this month, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, together with Ginco and Progmat, began working on issuing a "cryptocurrency industry-wide stablecoin" with the aim of improving the efficiency of fund settlement between cryptocurrency exchanges.

In this initiative, they plan to issue a yen-denominated stablecoin, "XJPY," using "Progmat Coin" developed by Progmat. In addition, it was also announced that the US dollar-denominated "XUSD" will be issued, and efforts are expected to accelerate in the future.

Reference:Announcement
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