Japan Blockchain Foundation Greenlights EJPY Yen Stablecoin for Japan Open Chain and Ethereum

Japan Blockchain Foundation announced on May 13 that it has formally decided to issue EJPY, a yen-pegged stablecoin, on Japan Open Chain and Ethereum. The token will use a trust-type structure under Japanese law, and the foundation says discussions with a prospective trustee business are already underway covering issuance, redemption, trust-asset management, system requirements, and regulatory compliance.

The target use cases are practical: B2B settlements, digital asset settlements, remittances, Web3 service payments, cross-border payments, and regional or municipal payment applications. Japan Open Chain is an Ethereum-compatible Layer 1 public blockchain operated by a consortium of Japanese companies, and EJPY preparations are centered on JOC first, with multi-chain compatibility also on the table.

The foundation framed the move as an effort to turn JOC into real payment infrastructure rather than a general-purpose blockchain platform.

🇯🇵 The Japanese yen-backed stablecoin "#EJPY" is officially coming.

Japan Blockchain Foundation has formally decided to issue EJPY under a trust-type scheme — a major step toward evolving #JapanOpenChain into a real payment infrastructure.

✅ B2B payments
✅ Digital asset…

— Japan Open Chain (@Japanopenchain0) May 13, 2026

The broader crypto audience picked up the story quickly. Coin Bureau flagged EJPY as a trust-type yen stablecoin aimed at real-world payment and remittance use cases.

🇯🇵JUST IN: Japan to launch EJPY, a trust-type yen stablecoin built for real-world use cases like B2B payments and remittances. pic.twitter.com/vdlam989l9

— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) May 13, 2026

Here is the core of the official announcement from Japan Blockchain Foundation:

Japan Blockchain Foundation, Co., Ltd., the operator and administrator of the consortium behind Japan Open Chain, a fully Ethereum-compatible public blockchain operated by Japanese enterprises, announced its official decision to issue the JPY-pegged stablecoin EJPY on Japan Open Chain and Ethereum. The company says the trust-type scheme has taken definitive shape and that it has been engaged in concrete discussions with the prospective trustee business on issuance and redemption, management of trust assets, system requirements, and compliance with laws and regulations. EJPY is being prepared primarily on JOC and is expected to generate real-demand transactions including B2B settlements, digital asset settlements, remittances, and payments in Web3 services. User handling is expected to involve Electronic Payment Instruments Service Providers, and sales, transfers, and redemptions should operate under appropriate structures based on relevant laws and regulations. The company cautions that this is preparation-status information only and does not constitute a sale, offering, or solicitation; actual issuance timing, terms, handling businesses, target blockchain platforms, and available services will be announced after discussions with relevant authorities and businesses and completion of required procedures.

Japan Open Chain currently runs 14 validators. The list includes Dentsu, NTT Communications (part of the NTT Group), TIS, SBINFT, Pacific Meta, Nethermind, Kyoto University of the Arts, pixiv, and Hatena, among others. The foundation expects the validator set to expand to 21.

That validator roster matters. These are established Japanese corporates and institutions running nodes on a public chain that is now preparing to handle yen-denominated stablecoin settlement. The combination of a regulated trust structure, enterprise validators, and Ethereum compatibility gives EJPY a different profile than dollar-denominated stablecoins built on permissionless chains with anonymous validator sets.

A few important caveats. EJPY is still in preparation. No launch date, final issuance terms, or confirmed handling businesses have been announced. The foundation has been explicit that everything remains subject to regulator and partner discussions. This is a decision to issue, paired with a trust structure that is now in place, but the coin is not circulating yet.

The direction is clear enough. Japan’s regulatory framework already accommodates trust-type stablecoins, and the foundation is building within that framework rather than around it. If EJPY reaches production on JOC and Ethereum with the validator backing and compliance structure described, it adds a serious yen-denominated settlement rail to the growing global stablecoin map.

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