Tokyo Fintech launches first yen-backed stablecoin: targets $65 billion issuance

The race to build on and with stablecoins is intensifying.

Tokyo-based fintech firm JPYC has launched Japan’s first yen-backed stablecoin along with a platform to issue the new coin, amid a growing global race to corner the growing market.

At a press conference in Tokyo, JPYC President Noriyoshi Okabe said the stablecoin from his company is a “major milestone in the history of Japanese currency,” and has also attracted interest from seven companies planning to incorporate it, according to a report from Business Insider Japan.

Long-term, JPYC hopes to “achieve an issuance balance of 10 trillion yen over the next three years and take on the challenge of creating a new social infrastructure through stablecoins.” – Cointelegraph report

Japan is the 4th largest economy in the world with $4.20 trillion in GDP and Japan ranks 19 in global crypto adoption.

A 10 trillion yen target for JPYC stablecoin is bold, this is approximately $65 billion, which would make it the 3rd largest stablecoin and the 8th largest crypto asset by market capitalization, based on today's market values.

The stablecoin market today is under $320 billion and is projected by Citigroup to be $4 trillion in a bull case scenario, by 2030, according to several reports.

This means that there's lots of room for growth, so much market opportunities for newer players to make entry.

Today, USD-pegged stablecoins dominate the new currency market at $304 billion, according to data from Coingecko.

This is an over 95% market share. It was only a matter of time before companies globally moved to develop and release competing stablecoins. While it is unlikely that this significantly threatens the USD dominance, it's all great additions to build crypto and blockchain exposure, globally.

The USD is the favored pegged due to current trust in the United States economy. Unless other major economies can prove to be a safer bet for stability, the USD will remain the leading currency for stablecoin products.

That said, a growing stablecoin market means that SocialFi will soon materialize. When much of finance is on-chain, and in assets with relative stability, there becomes a growing incentive to build social + finance tools for the masses.

This will be a major market over the next decade. We can also see a convergence with artificial intelligence as their role in commerce and general transactions could grow. This is all also a wake up call for the decentralized finance world.

Building the rails to lure incoming liquidity away from centralized services is pivotal to ensuring capital moves towards supporting an economic system that prioritizes a collective population interest over small, centralized, individual bodies.

Posted Using INLEO