Japan's Second Largest Bank is Launching a Coin: It Will Work with This Altcoin! - Koin Bulletin

Japan's second largest bank SMBC is preparing to launch its own stablecoin in collaboration with Avalanche's developer Ava Labs and crypto security firm Fireblocks.

Japanese banking giant Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMBC) is preparing for a significant move to enter the stablecoin space. According to a report published by Nikkei on Tuesday, the bank will develop a new stablecoin by partnering with Ava Labs, the team behind the Avalanche blockchain, and Fireblocks, which provides crypto asset security. Ava Labs behind Avalanche’s (AVAX) will create the blockchain infrastructure for the stablecoin, while Fireblocks will prepare the management systems for the tokens.

As part of the project, SMBC is expected to start tests with the local IT company TIS in the second half of 2025 and launch the stablecoin in 2026. Thanks to stablecoins, it becomes possible for banks to accelerate cross-border money transfers and reduce costs. The traditional SWIFT system can be both costly and slower due to intermediaries.

SMBC had previously made significant initiatives in the Web3 space. In 2022, the bank established a structure called Token Business Lab in collaboration with the Japanese technology company HashPort, starting to provide NFT-focused blockchain services. In the same year, it tested the concept of “Soulbound Token”, which are non-transferable NFTs used for authentication.

Last year, the bank announced that it planned to initiate a cross-border stablecoin pilot project in collaboration with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group. Japan had started to include stablecoins within the scope of legal regulation in 2022, allowing only licensed institutions to issue stablecoins.

According to DefiLlama data, the total market value of stablecoins has increased by 56% compared to last year, reaching $234.6 billion. In the US, the steps taken by President Donald Trump towards the regulation of stablecoins are paving the way for more banks to enter this sector.