Japanese stablecoin firm JPYC raises $38 million in extended Series B

JPYC Inc., a registered stablecoin firm in Japan, recently announced that it has raised a total of 6 billion yen ($38 million) in an extended Series B round.

The firm, which issues the yen-pegged stablecoin JPYC, announced Wednesday that the round's proceeds will be used to expand its financial and Web3 ecosystem and accelerate JPYC adoption.

The extended round includes a fresh 1 billion yen ($6.3 million) investment from the major domestic logistics company AZ-COM Maruwa. In March, Metaplanet Ventures deployed 400 million yen ($2.53 million) into the Series B.

AZ-COM Maruwa, a Tokyo-listed firm that counts Amazon Japan as one of its clients, announced plans to use JPYC to pay fees and salaries to roughly 2,300 business partners and individual contractors, Nikkei reported last month.

The logistics firm reportedly views the yen stablecoin's speed as a key tool to attract business partners and address driver shortages caused by an aging workforce and tighter overtime rules.

Since launching last October as Japan's first registered stablecoin, JPYC is also reportedly piloting stablecoin payments at a location of Lawson, the country's third-largest convenience store chain.

As Japanese authorities have expressed willingness to support the wider use of stablecoins and onchain finance, traditional institutions have ventured into the stablecoin sector. 

SBI Group launched JPYSC in June as the country's first trust bank-backed yen stablecoin. Three local megabanks — MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho — are also developing a jointly issued stablecoin.