tl;dr
Japanese traders will soon have access to Circle's USDC stablecoin, as SBI VC Trade has obtained a license to support USDC in Japan. This move could facilitate JPY/USD exchanges and impact the wider foreign exchange trading world and Japanese economy. The access to USDC may also serve as an on-ramp ...
Japanese exchange SBI VC Trade is set to introduce the USDC stablecoin, potentially transforming JPY/USD exchanges and impacting the Japanese economy. The USDC, backed by Circle and Coinbase, has received regulatory approval in Japan, offering Japanese traders access to liquidity pools and potential entry into the DeFi world. SBI VC Trade's move could facilitate JPY/USD exchanges and impact the wider foreign exchange trading world and the Japanese economy. The access to USDC may also serve as an on-ramp to decentralized finance (DeFi) for Japanese traders. SBI VC Trade has obtained a license to support USDC in Japan, enabling Japanese traders to gain access to Circle's USDC stablecoin. This development could have interesting effects on the foreign exchange trading world and the Japanese economy.
Japanese traders are set to gain access to Circle's USDC stablecoin, providing them with an easy option to hold United States dollar-denominated balances, which is a first for the Japanese market. It could facilitate JPY/USD exchanges and impact the wider foreign exchange trading world and the Japanese economy. JPY is the world's third most-traded fiat currency after the USD and Euro, and it is popular with "carry traders" who borrow JPY at very low interest rates and invest them in foreign markets. SWIFT also ranks it among the top five for all cross-border payments. The ability to move USD value into Japan and trade it for local fiat currency without using the banking system could also be valuable. USDC's easier access could serve as an on-ramp to the DeFi world for Japanese traders, given the country's large digital asset trading market and the significant value of DeFi trading.
SBI VC Trade's parent company, SBI Holdings, has partnered with Circle since 2023, and additional licensing was required to list and trade USDC in Japan. Japan's regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), has focused attention on stablecoins, requiring traceable transactions to legal names and residential addresses, making stablecoin transactions subject to more scrutiny than those involving other digital assets. USDC, with a market cap of around $56.4 billion, is the world's second most widely used USD-pegged digital asset after Tether (USDT), focusing on transparency and compliance with international regulators. USDC is regulated under U.S. law and backed by USD cash and short-term U.S. Treasuries.
USDC, which has been around since 2018, has a market cap of around $56.4 billion, making it the world's most widely used USD-pegged digital asset after Tether (USDT). While Tether still holds the majority share of stablecoin-trading liquidity, USDC has acquired a significant portion of the market by focusing on transparency and compliance with international regulators. Both stablecoins have maintained their $1 pegs fairly consistently over the years. USDC and USDT both utilize multiple blockchains to tokenize their assets, including Ethereum, Solana, Algorand, Polkadot, and Avalanche. USDC is regulated under U.S. law and is backed by USD cash and short-term U.S. Treasuries.