The Future of Remittance and Settlement in Japan Changed by Stablecoins──Thorough Forecast of Promising Use Cases【N.Avenue Club Phase 2 Round Table Report 10】 | CoinDesk JAPAN

Fiat currencies, especially stablecoins linked to the US dollar, are one of the most practical applications created by blockchain technology. With the entry of "USDC" into the Japanese market, expectations are growing for the emergence of stablecoins linked to the Japanese yen and the creation of their use cases.

Stablecoins have been utilized as a means of settlement for cryptocurrency transactions and in countries where financial infrastructure is lacking.

However, Japan has a very high bank account penetration rate and is an advanced market with well-established financial regulations, where cashless methods such as electronic money and credit cards are widely accepted. In such a Japan, what kind of use cases will stablecoins generate, and how will they enrich our lives and businesses?

On April 24, N.Avenue club, the largest corporate membership-based Web3 business community in Japan centered around leaders researching and promoting Web3, delved into the impact that stablecoins will bring to the Japanese market and the potential for promising business applications.

The "N.Avenue club" aims to accelerate Japan's Web3 business by hosting monthly "roundtable (study group)" events featuring guest speakers from both domestic and international backgrounds, as well as "gatherings" that promote interaction between member companies, related startups, and experts.

The N.Avenue club's round table is a closed event for members only, so a part of it will be reported here.

How stablecoins will change the future of remittances and settlements in Japan

At the beginning, Takayuki Masuda, the editor-in-chief of CoinDesk JAPAN, provided a briefing on the current state of stablecoins. He explained that the market size of stablecoins has a market capitalization of $229.1 billion (¥32.8 trillion) and that the monthly trading volume exceeds $2 trillion, with Tether's USDT having the largest market share, followed by USDC and others.

〈CoinDesk JAPAN Editor Takayuki Masuda〉 also explained that as for recent developments in Japan, it seems that movement has accelerated since the announcement by Governor Hidetaka Ito of the Financial Services Agency regarding the approval of stablecoin trading businesses at "FIN/SUM 2025" held in March. He mentioned that in Japan, SBI VC Trade became the first "electronic settlement means trading business operator," and megabanks are also becoming more active.

In addition, as movements from various companies, we introduced the yield-bearing stablecoin from PayPal and the trends of Dutch ING Group and Fidelity. At the end of the briefing, we organized and explained the initiatives of major U.S. settlement services such as Visa, MasterCard, and PayPal.

Winning Strategies for Domestic Stablecoins

In the main session, Takaya Saito, the Founder and CEO of Progmat, which provides the issuance infrastructure for security tokens (ST, digital securities) and stablecoins (SC), took the stage. The Progmat Coin developed by the company serves as a SaaS for stablecoin issuance, providing infrastructure that can be used by issuers and others without limitations.

Mr. Saito explained about the overseas stablecoins (foreign electronic settlement means) that have started to be handled domestically, and stated that for the time being, the focus of use cases will likely be "cryptocurrency trading" × "retail."

When considering the winning strategy for domestic stablecoins, the key factors are "what the settlement subject is" (whether it is on the blockchain) and "what the settlement range is" (whether it is limited or broad). It is pointed out that the areas where stablecoins are likely to gain traction are those with a "necessity" for using stablecoins and "white space." Specifically, it is explained that in fields where the settlement subject is transactions on the blockchain, such as cryptocurrencies and security tokens (ST) / utility tokens (UT), the settlement range is not limited to domestic or international. In contrast, when the settlement subject involves transactions "outside the blockchain," it needs to provide advantages that exceed the replacement costs, as it competes with existing infrastructure.

Moreover, Progmat is working on "Project Pax," which realizes global stablecoin remittances while leveraging traditional overseas remittance flows/UI in collaboration with Swift, and aims to achieve "minimization and full automation" of settlement risk without the maintenance costs of centralized clearing institutions through "Security Token (ST) × Stablecoin (SC)" (on-chain completion) and "Tokenized MMF." Additionally, it expressed a desire to aim for tokenized finance with on-chain completion through AI agents and programmable networks.

The Reason Why Orico is Working on a Credit Card that Supports USDC Payments

The next presentation was by Mr. Hirokatsu Akiyama, Manager of Orient Corporation (Orico). Orico, which offers credit card issuance and loans, is working with Slash Fintech Limited to issue the "Slash Card," the first credit card in the country that allows payments in USDC.

! 〈Hirokatsu Akiyama of Orient Corporation〉Slash Card uses VISA for international brands It will be available at 130 million VISA merchants in more than 200 countries and regions, and explained that the purpose of this initiative is to create use cases that meet diversifying needs and to release products that quickly capture the current state of digital tokenization.

Mr. Akiyama stated that the biggest challenge of the project is AML/CFT compliance, and in terms of building consensus within the company, it started with getting everyone to understand "what a stablecoin is."

Mr. Akiyama, who described the company's role as "playing a part in mass adoption," explained the company's future strategy, which involves using the issuance of Slash Card as a springboard to enter the Web3 space and advance the use of blockchain and stablecoins targeting its own economic zone.

Seven Bank after PoC of NFT distribution at ATMs and utilization of SC in retail distribution

Finally, Mr. Daiki Yamagata, the investigator from Seven Bank's Seven Lab, took the stage. The company conducted PoC for the use of stablecoin in retail and distribution from 2022 to 2023, and implemented a project to distribute NFTs as novelties to users donating through ATMs.

Regarding Mr. Yamakata from Seven Bank, he reflected that while there were effects from the PoC, there were many challenges. For example, even when using blockchain and stablecoins to deliver products, requests for returns and correction slips came in as manually typed documents that did not integrate into the data, highlighting that understanding and adjusting the surrounding systems were issues.

Regarding the fundraising using ATMs, we found a space that does not fall under the category of cryptocurrency exchange businesses and distributed NFTs as a novelty. Although the exact amount of funds raised is not disclosed, it was mentioned that the number of cases was approximately six times greater, and the amount donated per person was about twelve times larger compared to regular ATM fundraising.

Regarding stablecoins, it is viewed that there is a possibility of use cases emerging in "retail", but it was stated that the purpose is not to use stablecoins themselves. Additionally, in "wholesale", the potential for income from asset management, service transactions, and yield farming was mentioned, but it was revealed that it is still not concrete at this time.

How will stablecoins spread in Japan?

In the second half of the roundtable report, all participants broke into six tables for discussion. The theme raised was "How will stablecoins proliferate in Japan?" and there was a heated discussion.

From each table, there were opinions presented such as "What constitutes widespread adoption?", "It is necessary to think more concretely about the use cases of stablecoins", and "Is there even a need to promote adoption in the first place?" Additionally, there were specific ideas emerging after categorizing into retail and wholesale, asset management, and settlement/remittance, discussing what strengths and usage scenarios could be considered in each context.

N.Avenue club is a membership-based community aimed at accelerating Japan's Web3 business through various initiatives, such as the "Roundtable (Study Group)" held every month with guest speakers from both domestic and international backgrounds, and "Gatherings" that promote交流 between member companies, related startups, and experts. The N.Avenue club secretariat is calling for participation from business professionals and representatives of companies involved in or interested in Web3 business.

|Text: Kei Mizusawa | Edited by: CoinDesk JAPAN Editorial Department | Photo: Keisuke Tada