Japan’s three megabanks to launch joint yen stablecoin

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group plan to issue a yen‑pegged stablecoin on Progmat, the distributed ledger developed by MUFG and NTT Data, by the end of fiscal 2026. The banks began a Financial Services Agency regulatory pilot in November 2025. A US dollar‑pegged version is scheduled later in the year.

The FSA ran a joint pilot with all three institutions to test technical and compliance arrangements for a shared token. Progmat is a permissioned ledger built to support bank‑issued digital instruments and restricted access for participating institutions.

The banks do not intend to target retail wallets at launch. Together they serve more than 300,000 corporate clients, a customer base the banks plan to use for settlement and cash management services without the additional regulatory steps required for consumer onboarding.

The banks describe the planned token as a corporate settlement tool to enable faster, round‑the‑clock transfers for institutional clients. Operational details for client access, transaction flows and integration with existing systems are expected to be developed during the build‑out.

Regulators tested a common approach rather than separate, competing bank tokens. The consortium still needs to determine whether to issue a single co‑branded token or to operate shared rails that each bank can use for its own tokenized deposits and client services.

Key operational details remain unresolved. Custody arrangements, reserve management, liquidity rules and cross‑bank settlement processes are to be worked out as the project moves toward production.

The consortium’s plan arrives as other banks internationally have rolled out bank‑issued tokens for institutional and, in some cases, retail use. Some issuers have shifted from third‑party stablecoins to tokens issued directly by regulated balance sheets, increasing use of token‑based settlement.

Separately, mid‑tier Japanese banks and foreign partners are advancing parallel tokenized deposit projects, creating multiple approaches to tokenized bank money within Japan’s financial system. Regulators and market participants will monitor interoperability, cross‑border transfer arrangements and reserve backing ahead of the full launch.