JPYC Series B funding has reached 6 billion yen ($38 million) as Tokyo-listed logistics operator AZ-COM MARUWA Holdings commits ¥1 billion ($6.3 million) to the yen stablecoin issuer, taking the company’s total capital raised across all rounds to $106 million over seven funding rounds since November 2021, according to CoinDesk.
JPYC Inc. said the proceeds will accelerate expansion of its regulated yen-backed stablecoin and associated Web3 payment infrastructure.
AZ-COM Maruwa moves from payment pilot to strategic investor
AZ-COM Maruwa’s investment follows its earlier announcement that it intends to use JPYC to settle transportation fees and salaries for roughly 2,300 business partners and individual contractors, including truck drivers, as reported by Nikkei. The company recorded net sales of ¥230.5 billion for FY2026/3 and employs 25,697 people across the group, giving it the operational scale to run a meaningful stablecoin payment programme. Amazon Japan counts among its major customers.
The appeal is straightforward from the logistics side: fee-free settlement at higher frequency than conventional bank transfers, with faster payments cited as a lever for retaining contractors in a market squeezed by Japan’s aging workforce and tighter overtime regulations.
AZ-COM Maruwa sits on the Prime Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange under securities code 9090, so its move into stablecoin payments carries institutional weight in a domestic market still assessing whether blockchain rails are ready for commercial-scale use.
JPYC Series B funding builds on earlier institutional participation
The extended round adds to a Series B that attracted a ¥400 million ($2.53 million) commitment from Metaplanet Ventures K.K. in March 2026. Per Bitcoin.com News, Metaplanet executed a Letter of Intent rather than a completed share purchase at that stage, with the transaction slated to close in April 2026. Metaplanet Ventures is a wholly owned subsidiary of Metaplanet Inc., established to deploy roughly ¥4 billion (about $25 million) into Japanese Bitcoin infrastructure companies over several years, according to Bitcoin Magazine.
Metaplanet’s involvement extends beyond the funding round. In July, Metaplanet, JPYC, Progmat and Metaplanet Securities launched a joint study examining whether Bitcoin can serve as collateral or a credit-enhancement asset for tokenised corporate bonds and other blockchain-based credit products. JPYC is evaluating stablecoin issuance, redemption and payment functions within that framework; Progmat handles the security token infrastructure for recording ownership and managing transfers. No product launch decision has been taken, and any issuance would require internal approvals and regulatory sign-off.
According to the Bitcoin Foundation, JPYC reported cumulative issuance of about 2.1 billion yen as of a mid-April press release, with supply growing more than 2.5 times over the prior three months, roughly 17,000 registered accounts, and more than 130,000 wallet addresses having interacted with the token.
JPYC’s peg is maintained 1:1 against the yen through reserves held in bank deposits and government bonds, with the token deployed across Ethereum, Avalanche and Polygon.
Commercial pilots testing the stablecoin beyond crypto-native use cases
Since launching last October as Japan’s first registered stablecoin, JPYC has moved into several commercial payment trials. The most closely watched is a proof-of-concept with convenience store operator Lawson. The first trial, scheduled for 6 August, uses HashPort Wallet with JPYC at Lawson’s Takanawa Gateway City store. A second trial on 17 August expands the scope, allowing invited participants to pay with JPYC, USDC or USDT through MetaMask at the Gate City Osaki Atrium location.
Lawson said it is evaluating wallet integration, settlement processing, transaction speed and day-to-day store operations before deciding whether stablecoin payments suit wider deployment across its estate.
JPYC has also been introduced at selected Chibo restaurant locations, and dental clinics in Tokyo and Chiba have announced plans to accept it via HashPort’s payment infrastructure.
Japan’s regulated stablecoin market is filling out fast
JPYC is not operating in a vacuum. SBI Group entered the market in June with JPYSC, described as Japan’s first trust bank-backed yen stablecoin. MUFG, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Bank have been jointly developing a yen-backed stablecoin and have said they expect live transactions during fiscal 2026, pending completion of common issuance, governance and settlement standards.
Amendments to Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Act came into effect earlier this month, reclassifying cryptocurrencies as financial products rather than payment instruments and laying the foundation for domestic crypto ETFs, insider trading rules and a separate crypto tax framework expected from 2028.
The Lawson pilot on 17 August is the next data point: if point-of-sale stablecoin settlement processes cleanly through MetaMask at a mass-market retailer, the argument for broader deployment gets considerably harder to dismiss.
