venture capital
Tazapay, a leading global cross-border payments infrastructure platform, has successfully closed its Series B funding round with investment from Peak XV Partners, Ripple, Circle Ventures, Norinchukin Capital, and GMO VenturePartners. Existing investor Peak XV Partners led the round and 2 other existing investors January Capital and ARC180 joined the round.
stablecoin
Simplex and Ava Labs have conducted a proof of concept combining Simplex's stablecoin issuance and redemption system "Simplex Stablecoin" with Ava Labs' blockchain infrastructure service "AvaCloud" to achieve financial services-grade availability and low latency. Currently, many financial institutions and companies domestically and internationally
tokenization
What a day in Osaka on Friday! In a series of coordinated announcements SBI Holdings unveiled a multi-faceted strategy to build and dominate the next generation of digital finance. Through landmark partnerships with global crypto leaders Startale Group, Ripple, and Circle, as well as Japanese financial titan Sumitomo Mitsui Banking
venture capital
Mesh, the leading crypto payments network, today announced additional investments from PayPal Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Uphold, Mirana Ventures (venture partner for ByBit), SBI Investment, Overlook Ventures, Kingsway Capital, Moderne Ventures and CE-Ventures, bringing total capital funding to more than $130 million. This support positions the company to accelerate its impact
corporate venture capital
Hokkoku Financial Holdings (Hokkoku FHD) Group's Hokkoku Bank and Soft Space have commenced the development of a SoftPOS solution that enables touch payments from international payment networks including Visa, and for the first time in the world, payments using deposit-type stablecoins. At the same time, QR Investment, a
stablecoin
Simplex has launched its stablecoin issuance and redemption system "Simplex Stablecoin." Stablecoins are payment instruments that possess the characteristics of cryptocurrencies—enabling instant and low-cost transfers—while maintaining stability by pegging their value to fiat currencies. With the amendment of the Payment Services Act in June 2023, which
stablecoin
Blue Lab and Digital Entertainment Asset (DEA), a Singapore-based company operating a global problem-solving game platform business, will launch a joint proof-of-concept experiment "GLOCAL AGENTS – Local Secret Society" themed around "gamification aimed at sustainable regional revitalization" starting in June 2025. Users will receive rewards based on
stablecoin
JPYC announced that their previously issued prepaid payment instrument "JPYC Prepaid" will be treated as an electronic payment instrument starting June 1, 2025, following the required transition period after the amended Payment Services Act took effect on June 1, 2023. Handling of "JPYC Prepaid" from June
Weekly
Welcome to the one hundred eleventh edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. For many, this was a three-day working week. For some, it was a four-day working weekend. Reading the announcements of Sony Bank's migration to a new core banking system reminded us of our own time in
stablecoin
Kaia has collaborated with Tether, the largest company in the digital assets industry, to integrate native USD₮ on the Kaia network. Through this launch, Tether and Kaia aim to strengthen USD₮’s dominance in Asia as the world’s largest USD-backed stablecoin with over 400 million global users by leveraging
stablecoin
This Sushi Tech panel discussion centered around the stablecoin revolution and its implications for mass adoption in Japan and Asia. The discussion highlighted stablecoins as cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value, often pegged to reliable assets such as the US dollar, to mitigate volatility. The panelists, experts in the
cross-border payments
Progmat has commenced Phase 2 practical verification for "Project Pax," aimed at building a cross-border remittance infrastructure using stablecoins. In addition, The Shoko Chukin Bank has become the first domestic bank to participate in this project. 1. Background and Purpose Project Pax, announced in September 2024, aims to