Japanese Banking Giant SMBC Explores Stablecoin Commercialization with Avalanche and Fireblocks

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMBC), a major Japanese banking institution, announced on Wednesday its collaboration with Avalanche blockchain firm Ava Labs, digital asset security firm Fireblocks, and IT provider TIS to explore the commercialization of stablecoins in Japan. The initiative focuses on developing a framework for stablecoin issuance and circulation, analyzing regulatory requirements, and identifying practical applications, particularly for settling tokenized financial and real-world assets. This move comes as the stablecoin market soars, growing nearly 50% to $228 billion over the past year, with Japan spearheading regulatory efforts, including recognizing stablecoins as electronic payment instruments in 2023.