2023/11/27
SBI Holdings Co., Ltd.
Circle Internet Financial, LLC
SBI Holdings Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, Chairman and President: Yoshitaka Kitao, hereafter “the Company”) and Circle Internet Financial (headquarters: Massachusetts, USA, co-founder and CEO: Jeremy Allaire, hereafter “Circle”), which is a global financial technology company and issues USDC, which is the world's largest regulated stablecoin, are based in Japan We are pleased to announce that we have signed a basic agreement for a comprehensive business alliance aimed at the distribution of USDC table coins, the opening of bank accounts for Circle, and the dissemination of Circle's Web3 related services.
Regarding initiatives related to digital assets, in Japan, which plays the role of a global leader, regulations on stablecoins were stipulated ahead of the world by the Act on Fund Settlement (revised Settlement of Funds Act) revised on 2023/6/3 (revised fund settlement law). In response to this, it is expected that the issuance and distribution of stablecoins will also be revitalized within Japan, and development towards a Web3 society will accelerate.
The revised Funds Settlement Act defines “collateral” stablecoins backed by legal tender. Circle's USDC is 100% backed by highly liquid cash and cash equivalent assets, and in principle can be exchanged one-on-one for US dollars. Also, in order to protect USDC holders, USDC reserves are separated from Circle's operating funds and stored at major financial institutions. As of 2023/11/17, a total of 12.7 trillion dollars (about 1,880 trillion yen) or more of on-chain transactions using USDC have been carried out.
In this basic agreement, which anticipates future collaboration between the two companies, we will first aim to distribute USDC issued by Circle within Japan in order to expand the use of stablecoins in Japan. Furthermore, we have confirmed that both companies will cooperate to respond appropriately to stablecoin-related regulations, including communication with authorities. Regarding distribution of USDC within Japan, SBI VC Trade Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Tomohiko Kondo), which has a policy aiming to register the electronic payment method transaction business based on approval from the authorities, plans to handle USDC.
Furthermore, SBI Shinsei Bank, Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, President: Katsuya Kawashima) plans to provide banking services to Circle within Japan through account opening, and this is expected to improve access to USDC and liquidity for users, including businesses in Japan.
Furthermore, as part of its digital asset-related strategy, the SBI Group has also agreed to collaborate to provide various Web3-related systems, such as Circle's programmable wallets, blockchain infrastructure, and smart contract management tools.
(From left, our Chairman and CEO Yoshitaka Kitao, and Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder and CEO of Circle Co., Ltd.)
Comment by Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder and CEO of Circle:
“Our partnership with SBI Holdings shares our vision for the future of digital currency and is an important milestone in Circle's expansion plans in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. I am delighted to be working with SBI to establish new standards in the Japanese financial sector. Through these initiatives, the SBI Group and Circle will make efforts to expand stablecoin use cases within Japan.”
Comment by Yoshitaka Kitao, Chairman and President of the Company:
“Within Japan, the ground for full-scale introduction of stablecoins has begun steadily, such as system development relating to stablecoins being carried out under the revised Funds Settlement Law that came into effect in 2023/6. Under such circumstances, I am very happy that we were able to take the first step towards popularizing stablecoins in Japan by signing a basic agreement for a comprehensive business alliance with Circle, which operates and issues the stablecoin USDC, which boasts a total market value close to 4 trillion yen and is used globally in over 190 countries. The SBI Group would like to do its utmost to realize new finance utilizing stablecoins.”
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[About Circle]
Circle is a global financial technology company that enables businesses of all sizes to harness the power of digital currencies and public blockchains for payments, commerce, and financial applications around the world. Circle is the issuer of USDC and EURC, and is a highly liquid, interoperable, and reliable money protocol on the internet. Circle's open, programmable platform and APIs make it easy to run internet-scale businesses, such as making international payments, building globally accessible Web3 apps, and managing internal finances.
[About SBI Holdings]
As a pioneer of internet financial services in Japan, the SBI Group, founded in 1999, has a “financial services business” that operates securities, banks, and insurance businesses; an “asset management business” that provides services related to various asset management; an “investment business” that performs venture capital investments including PE investments; a “crypto asset business” that provides exchange and transaction services for crypto assets (virtual currency); and bio/healthcare & medical informatics It is an internet comprehensive financial group that globally develops “next-generation businesses,” which conduct business related to the X business, Web3-related, semiconductors, and new overseas markets.