Mizuho, MUFG and SMBC publish results of joint yen stablecoin pilot

Japan's three major banking groups—Mizuho Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.—completed a successful cross-border pilot for a joint yen-backed stablecoin between July 17 and July 23, 2026. Structured under the Payment Services Act as specified trust beneficiary rights backed by bank deposits, the token facilitated seamless issuance, transfer, and fiat redemption for Mitsubishi Corp.'s international offices. The consortium aims for commercial deployment within fiscal year 2026.

Pilot test execution and supervision

• ▪Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Mizuho Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation completed a joint pilot test of a yen-based stablecoin from July 17 to July 23, 2026.
• ▪The stablecoin pilot was conducted under the supervision of Japan's Financial Services Agency after selection in November 2025 under its FinTech PoC Hub.
• ▪The joint stablecoin pilot was conducted alongside Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation and technology provider TISI Inc.

Cross-border trial testing and evaluation

• ▪The pilot verified the full lifecycle of issuance, transfer, and fiat redemption for cross-border settlements between Mitsubishi Corporation's Japanese headquarters and its overseas bases.
• ▪Participants in the cross-border trial evaluated joint bank coordination, anti-money laundering compliance, counter-terrorism financing measures, and wallet infrastructure integrated by TISI Inc.

Stablecoin Trust and circulation structure

• ▪The stablecoin is structured under Japan's Payment Services Act as specified trust beneficiary rights, with bank deposits serving as underlying assets.
• ▪In the proposed trust structure, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Mizuho Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation act as joint settlors while Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation serves as trustee.
• ▪Circulation of the joint yen stablecoin is restricted to identity-verified customers across the three banks' networks, operating without a preset maximum issuance cap.

Plans for commercial deployment

• ▪Prior to commercial deployment, the participating banks plan to address governance, regulatory compliance, cybersecurity, and system stability, following the establishment of a joint council in June 2026.
• ▪Mizuho, MUFG, and SMBC target beginning commercial live transactions of the joint yen stablecoin during fiscal year 2026, which runs from April 2026 to March 2027.

Partnerships with Ripple

• ▪Mizuho Bank and SMBC's investment arm executed agreements with Ripple Labs to deploy real-world asset tokenization and institutional DeFi solutions on the XRP Ledger.
• ▪MUFG, Mizuho, and SMBC joined a banking consortium under SBI Ripple Asia in 2017 to implement RippleNet technologies for domestic and cross-border settlements.