Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group will take a stake of close to 5% in SBI Startale Marketing, the joint venture set up by SBI Holdings and Singapore-based Web3 firm Startale Group to develop a yen-denominated stablecoin, according to a report in the Japanese business daily Nikkei published on October 30.

SBI Startale Marketing is the vehicle through which the two partners are pursuing a stablecoin pegged to the Japanese yen. SBI Holdings is a Tokyo-based financial services group with one of the most extensive crypto asset and blockchain portfolios among Japan's listed companies, spanning crypto trading services, mining and blockchain-related investments. Startale Group is a Singapore-based Web3 development firm known for its work on the Soneium blockchain.

For Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, the parent of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and one of Japan's three major banking groups, the planned shareholding links the lender to a yen stablecoin initiative led by SBI Holdings. The participation also places a major Japanese banking group alongside an established financial-services and Web3 partnership as institutions assess how yen-denominated digital assets can be developed within Japan's regulated market.

The plan comes as Japanese financial institutions move to issue yen-denominated stablecoins under a legal framework created by amendments to the Payment Services Act that took effect in June 2023. The revised law limits stablecoin issuance in Japan to licensed entities such as banks, funds transfer service providers and trust companies, and it has prompted a series of stablecoin projects among the country's major banks and securities firms. The regulatory framework therefore remains a central factor in how these projects are structured and which entities can issue the tokens.

This content was first published on COINOTAG: https://en.coinotag.com/sumitomo-mitsui-sbi-stablecoin-venture