Nonagon Capital Announces Business Partnership with Startale Group to Develop JPYSC, a Japanese Yen-Denominated Trust-Type Stablecoin

Nonagon Capital (Headquarters: San Francisco Bay Area, USA; Representative: Kazushi Okamoto; hereinafter "Nonagon Capital") and Startale Group (Headquarters: Singapore; CEO: Sota Watanabe; hereinafter "Startale Group") are pleased to announce the commencement of a business partnership. Both companies will jointly promote proof-of-concept experiments and business development utilizing the Japanese Yen-denominated trust-type stablecoin, "JPYSC." Overview and Features of the "JPYSC" Stablecoin JPYSC is a Japanese Yen-denominated trust-type stablecoin currently under development through a strategic partnership between the SBI Group and Startale Group. Under Japan's financial regulatory framework, JPYSC will be issued as a "Type 3 Electronic Payment Instrument (Trust-type)" by Shinsei Trust & Banking, a subsidiary of SBI Shinsei Bank. By utilizing a framework where underlying assets are managed under trust, user assets are protected and managed at a high level of security. Key features of JPYSC include: First, it is designed to comply with relevant laws and financial regulations as a highly reliable trust-type Type 3 electronic payment instrument. Second, unlike Type 1 electronic payment instruments, it is not subject to the 1-million-yen-per-transaction limit applied to domestic remittances. This feature is crucial for supporting B2B payments and large-scale transactions at the institutional investor level. Furthermore, by being designed to seamlessly connect existing financial systems with blockchain networks, it aims to achieve global interoperability and serve as a foundation for an internationally trusted "Digital Yen." SBI VC Trade Co., Ltd. serves as the sales partner, while Startale Group acts as the core partner, leading the technical aspects such as smart contract design and security system construction. The official launch is scheduled for April–June 2026. The Future Potential of AI Agent Payments Because stablecoins possess the characteristics of fiat currency usable in digital spaces, they have various applications. Among these, they are expected to be widely used for payments by AI agents. According to the report "The future of commerce in an agentic world" published by Deloitte, the scale of commerce conducted by AI agents is projected to reach $17.5 trillion by 2030 (approximately 2.7 quadrillion yen, roughly four times Japan's GDP), representing a massive market. The role of AI agents is evolving far beyond traditional personal assistants into core tools that autonomously support corporate economic activities. Particularly in the United States, numerous startups related to AI agent payments are emerging, and major corporations are advancing new business developments, forming an unprecedentedly large economic sphere. The key to this economic sphere is autonomous payment by AI agents. Specifically, this refers to transactions conducted without human intervention...