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Nomura Holdings and Circle Internet Financial signed a memorandum of understanding on June 26, setting out plans to develop a USDC-based corporate foreign exchange and settlement service in Japan.
Secondary reporting citing Nikkei indicates the partners are targeting a launch as early as 2027, with the service designed to allow Japanese companies to convert yen into USDC for overseas payments, trade finance and transfers between overseas affiliates.
Service Targets Japan’s $440 Billion Daily FX Market
Under the MOU, Nomura will handle client onboarding, regulatory compliance and banking system integration in Japan. Circle will provide payment infrastructure through USDC.
Secondary reporting says Circle’s infrastructure includes Arc, an enterprise blockchain, and StableFX, a foreign exchange engine designed to enable near-real-time atomic settlement between currency pairs without prefunding.
According to BIS data, Japan’s foreign exchange market handled $440 billion in daily transactions as of 2025. Standard bank wires currently require between half a day and two business days to clear yen against foreign currencies.
The companies said they will explore instant settlement using stablecoins as one of four MOU areas, alongside on-chain collateral management, fund transfers, and capital markets transactions. Nomura is also studying whether the platform could eventually support real-time settlement of stock and bond transactions.
“The company aims to move digital finance beyond proof-of-concept initiatives and develop it into practical financial infrastructure for real-world business operations,” Nomura said in its June 26 announcement.
Japan’s Regulatory Overhaul Creates an Opening for USDC
The partnership arrives as Japan’s updated payment rules took full effect. Japan’s Financial Services Agency established a compliance pathway for qualifying foreign trust-type stablecoins under an amended Payment Services Act.
Circle announced that USDC became the first global dollar stablecoin to receive a defined distribution pathway under Japanese law. This pathway operates through SBI VC Trade, which obtained regulatory approval in March 2025.
Nomura has separately piloted on-chain Japanese government bond collateral and has participated in FSA-backed stablecoin settlement projects, giving it existing infrastructure to build on for the proposed service.
Japan’s Megabanks and Ripple Advance Stablecoin Plans in Parallel
The Nomura-Circle announcement arrived one day after SBI VC Trade launched Ripple’s dollar-backed RLUSD stablecoin in Japan following FSA approval.
Earlier in June, Japan’s three largest commercial banks, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Bank, announced plans to jointly issue yen-linked stablecoins in the 2026 financial year.
