Key Takeaways
AZ-COM Maruwa Holdings, a Tokyo-listed logistics firm that delivers for Amazon Japan, will pay about 2,300 partners, including truck drivers, in the regulated yen stablecoin JPYC.
Nikkei Asia and CoinDesk describe the plan as the first large-scale corporate use of a stablecoin in day-to-day operations in Japan.
JPYC holds a one-to-one peg to the yen, is backed by bank deposits and Japanese government bonds, and passed 2 billion yen in onchain circulation last week.
AZ-COM Maruwa Holdings, a Tokyo-listed logistics company that has handled deliveries for Amazon Japan since 2017, plans to start paying its partners in a stablecoin, Nikkei Asia reported on Monday. The firm will use the regulated yen stablecoin JPYC to settle fees and other payments to a network of around 2,300 subcontractors and independent truck drivers.
Maruwa reported 230.5 billion yen, about 1.4 billion dollars, in revenue for the fiscal year that ended in March. CoinDesk reported that the move is the first large-scale corporate use of a stablecoin in everyday business operations in the country.
The driver here is cash flow. Japan's trucking sector is short on labor, its workforce is aging, and stricter overtime rules have squeezed small carriers. Maruwa is betting that near-instant, no-fee conversions between JPYC and yen will get money to drivers faster and make contract work more attractive.
JPYC is Japan's first fully regulated yen-pegged stablecoin, issued by the Tokyo fintech JPYC Inc. under the country's Payment Services Act. It holds a strict one-to-one peg to the yen and is backed entirely by bank deposits and Japanese government bonds. Its onchain circulation passed 2 billion yen last week, and Maruwa is weighing a formal partnership with the issuer along with a 1 billion yen investment in the token.
The timing tracks a broader shift. Japan spent the spring reclassifying crypto as a financial instrument, and the card networks have been building stablecoin rails for institutions. The convenience-store chain Lawson will pilot JPYC at a Tokyo store in early August. What started as a retail experiment is turning into payroll.
People Also Ask
What is JPYC?
JPYC is Japan's first fully regulated yen-pegged stablecoin, issued by JPYC Inc. under the Payment Services Act and backed one-to-one by bank deposits and Japanese government bonds.
Why is AZ-COM Maruwa paying drivers in a stablecoin?
To speed up cash flow. Near-instant, no-fee conversion between JPYC and yen gets payments to subcontractors and truck drivers faster, which the company hopes makes contract work more attractive amid a labor shortage.
Is this the first corporate use of a stablecoin in Japan?
Nikkei Asia and CoinDesk describe it as the first large-scale corporate use of a stablecoin in day-to-day business operations in Japan, following smaller retail pilots.
How is JPYC different from dollar stablecoins?
JPYC is pegged to the yen instead of the dollar, is regulated under Japanese law, and is backed by yen bank deposits and Japanese government bonds, with onchain supply above 2 billion yen.
Sources: CoinDesk, Nikkei Asia.