Japan’s three financial giants—MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC)—are targeting the launch of live commercial transactions using a stablecoin during fiscal year 2026. According to a joint statement, the megabanks will serve as joint settlors for the initiative, while a trust bank or a comparable entity will step in as trustee.
With plans to eventually scale the stablecoin across a broad spectrum of use cases, the trio is accelerating its development timeline to hit the 2026 rollout target. To support this effort, they have agreed to form a voluntary council dedicated to designing operational frameworks, structuring governance, and exploring the build-out of a shared issuance infrastructure.
This stablecoin push coincides with a broader digital transformation across Japan’s top banking tier, where institutions are aggressively adopting advanced technologies, particularly artificial intelligence. For instance, MUFG shared that it is currently optimizing its environment to foster seamless, side-by-side collaboration between human employees and AI systems. Meanwhile, SMBC has established an agentic AI startup in Singapore, aiming to accelerate the creation of enterprise-grade AI tools while capturing top-tier tech talent in the region.
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