By
Temitope Olatunji
April 18th, 2024
Japanese IT firm GMO has confirmed that it plans to launch a stablecoin pegged to the Japanese Yen. This comes at a strategic time, where the stablecoin craze has never been bigger.
One of Japan’s powerful and influential IT firms, GMO, has confirmed plans to launch a stablecoin penned to the Japanese Yen. The company, listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, stated that it will launch the stablecoin – called GMO Japanese Yen (GJY) – next year.
A Natural Decision
The initiative will be conducted under Z.com, a subsidiary of the conglomerate dedicated specifically to cryptocurrency. The company clearly has more motive than most to develop its own stablecoin, considering that it not only already has mining operations. Specifically, the company unveiled a mining rig that consumes less electricitity that received high praise from the cryptocurrency community in general.
In addition, GMO has also recently launched a web bank, called GMO Aozora Bank Group – in partnership with the Aozora Bank Group – that apparently has been planned since 2016. The company was not shy about the fact that it planned on making significant progress in gaining market share of the global payments and remittance sector. They also have signaled that they plan on having corporate and retail clients, as well.
GMO has embraced blockchain technology possibly more than any other Japanese company, and this stablecoin would help GMO settle its own bank transactions – so the decision certainly seems like a smart one. The timing also seems perfect, considering that the demandfor stablecoins has never been greater.
Interesting Timing
There certainly seems to be a “stablecoin boom” of sorts, right around a time when Tether, the most dominant stablecoin by a large amount, appears to be having tremendous issues. Specifically, the financial institution that backs USDT, Noble Bank, has reportedly gone insolvent and is looking for buyers.
Despite the fact that Tether is clearly dominant in the stablecoin sector, it has been repeatedly criticized for its lack of transparency. As a result, other stablecoin projects have not only arisen, but have gained major traction recently.
For example, IBM, one of the most well-known tech companies in the world, and Stronghold, have partnered to launch a USD-pegged Stablecoin. The New York Department of Financial Services also recently approved two separate stablecoin projects: one from Gemini Trust Company, founded by the famous Winklevoss Twins, and one by Paxos Trust Company. Both stablecoins are based on the Ethereum blockchain.
As if this wasn’t enough competition in the stablecoin space, Goldman Sachs-backed Cirlce also recently entered the sector, with its dollar-backed USDC coin.
Japan has been a cryptocurrency-friendly country for a while now, and even accepts bitcoin as a legal form of payment. It is clear that GMO is positioned to certainly make waves in the stablecoin sector, especially as it is not pegged to the dollar, like the majority of stablecoin projects, but instead pegged to the Japanese yen.