USDC Becomes the First Global Dollar Stablecoin to Launch in Japan

After a two-year process of regulatory negotiations, Circle's USD Coin (USDC) has received approval to launch in Japan.

After a two-year process of regulatory negotiations, Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) has received approval to launch in Japan.

This makes USDC the first global dollar stablecoin to be approved under Japan’s new stablecoin regulatory framework. The stablecoin will debut on SBI VC Trade crypto exchange on March 26.

This follows the March 4 regulatory approval from the Japan Financial Services Agency. To operate in the country, Circle has established a Japanese entity called Circle Japan KK, which will support USDC operations.

The launch comes as part of a joint venture between Circle and SBI Holdings, a major Japanese financial conglomerate. SBI VC Trade is a cryptocurrency exchange operating as a subsidiary of SBI Holdings.

A few more exchanges plan to offer USDC soon. Binance Japan, bitbank, and bitFlyer have committed to listing and distributing the stablecoin in the near future.

Both Bitbank and BitFlyer are among Japan’s largest crypto exchanges. They process more than $25 million each daily and receive over 1.85 million website visits monthly.

Jeremy Allaire, Circle’s co-founder and CEO, highlighted this breakthrough on social media. He noted that the approval came after “two years of back-and-forth negotiations with regulators, banking partners and industry players.”

Allaire believes this development will create many new opportunities. These include improvements in “payments, cross border finance and commerce, FX” and other areas.

SBI Holdings’ CEO Yoshitaka Kitao also praised the launch. He stated it would “enhance financial accessibility and drive crypto innovation in Japan’s evolving digital economy.”

Kitao added that this aligns with SBI’s broader vision. The company sees USDC as part of “the future of payments and blockchain-based finance in Japan.”

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