Minna Bank, Japan’s leading digital bank, has collaborated with Solana Japan, Fireblocks, and tech company TIS to introduce stablecoins to its customers. The plan includes exploring the use of stablecoins as well as Web3 wallets for real-world financial applications. This is another major step in the country’s growing interest in blockchain-based payment solutions and digital assets.

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Minna Bank Joins Forces with Fireblocks, Solana, and TIS

The announcement of the partnership came via Fireblocks’s X.com post. According to the post, the collaboration will focus on assessing how stablecoins can be integrated into Japan’s mainstream financial services. They also aim to evaluate the user experience of Web3 wallets and the potential role of streamlining daily transactions with Web3 wallets.

In a statement shared with Decrypt, Minna Bank officials confirmed that trials are being planned to test the issuance of stablecoins on the Solana blockchain. The initiative will examine the feasibility of integrating these digital tokens into consumer-friendly payment platforms.

Chief Strategy Officer of Fireblocks, Stephen Richardson, emphasized the broader importance of the project in the context of Japan’s trade-driven economy. “Japan has a lot of trade, and that trade can be made more effective by the easy and efficient movement of money,” he said. He also highlighted the ability of stablecoins to be a promising tool to overcome all the limitations of traditional banking failures.

Japan’s financial sector has been accelerating its move toward digital finance and blockchain integration. This new initiative by Minna Bank aligns with recent regulatory advances in the country aimed at supporting digital innovation while maintaining oversight and consumer protection.

In Japan, there is more than one stablecoin project outside the Minna Bank one. Japan’s second-largest banking firm, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial firm (SMBC), is also looking at issuing stablecoins. SMBC is working with Ava Labs, Fireblocks, and TIS to launch a trial using the Avalanche blockchain in late 2025 or early 2026. A complete rollout is scheduled later that year.

Stablecoins are becoming more popular around the world as a safe way to make cross-border payments and do business online. In China, big companies like JD.com and Ant Group are pushing the central bank to allow offshore stablecoins backed by the yuan. They are also intending to create coins backed by the Hong Kong dollar under new local rules that will go into effect in August.

Stablecoins are also becoming very popular in Europe and the US. Oobit’s June report said that stablecoins were used to settle more than 75% of crypto transactions on its platform, mainly in Poland, Germany, and Lithuania. Banks in South Korea are already testing regulated stablecoin systems. At the same time, U.S. officials are working on a federal system to control dollar-backed stablecoins, which are the most widely used type of stablecoin. Minna Bank’s debut into the stablecoin market, along with those of other large banks, shows that more and more people believe that blockchain could change the way traditional banking works. Japan is ready to become a significant player in the digital currency ecosystem as the global race to digitize payments heats up.