JPYC secures $38 million in extended Series B funding, with AZ-COM Maruwa joining as Japan’s yen stablecoin adoption accelerates nationwide.
JPYC Inc., Japan’s registered stablecoin issuer, has raised a total of 6 billion yen ($38 million) in an extended Series B funding round, deepening its push to expand yen-denominated digital payments across the country.
Extended Round Draws Logistics Backer
The company announced Wednesday that proceeds from the round will fund expansion of its financial and Web3 ecosystem while accelerating adoption of JPYC, its yen-pegged stablecoin. The extension includes a fresh 1 billion yen ($6.3 million) investment from AZ-COM Maruwa, a major Tokyo-listed logistics firm. Metaplanet Ventures had previously deployed 400 million yen ($2.53 million) into the round back in March.
AZ-COM Maruwa, which counts Amazon Japan among its clients, plans to use JPYC to pay fees and salaries to roughly 2,300 business partners and individual contractors, according to Nikkei reporting cited by The Block. The logistics company reportedly sees the stablecoin’s settlement speed as a way to attract business partners and ease driver shortages tied to an aging workforce and stricter overtime regulations.
- AZ-COM Maruwa invested 1 billion yen ($6.3 million) in the extension
- Metaplanet Ventures contributed 400 million yen ($2.53 million) in March
- The round totals 6 billion yen ($38 million)
Retail Pilots Expand JPYC’s Reach
JPYC launched last October as Japan’s first registered stablecoin, and the company is now piloting stablecoin payments at a location of Lawson, Japan’s third-largest convenience store chain. That pilot marks one of the first real-world retail tests for yen-denominated stablecoin payments in the country, giving JPYC a foothold beyond business-to-business use cases like the AZ-COM Maruwa partnership.
Banks Enter Japan’s Stablecoin Market
Japanese regulators have signaled support for wider stablecoin and onchain finance adoption, prompting traditional financial institutions to enter the space. SBI Group launched JPYSC in June, becoming the country’s first trust bank-backed yen stablecoin issuer. Separately, Japan’s three largest megabanks, MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho, are developing a jointly issued stablecoin of their own.
The growing competition suggests Japan’s stablecoin market is shifting from early-mover startups toward a mix of fintech innovators and established financial institutions, each betting that yen-denominated digital currency will become core payment infrastructure. For JPYC, the fresh capital and expanding pilot programs position the company to compete as banks and trust institutions move into the same space.