Circle Internet Financial has announced a partnership with Japanese financial giant Nomura Holdings to launch a blockchain-based foreign exchange settlement service in Japan, with a planned rollout targeting 2027.
The collaboration will allow Japanese businesses to convert yen directly into USDC, Circle’s US dollar-pegged stablecoin, enabling cross-border payments and FX transactions to clear in near real time.
Japan’s FX market processes roughly $440 billion in daily transactions, according to Bank for International Settlements data.
Traditional bank wire transfers between yen and foreign currencies currently take two to three business days to settle.
The new system aims to bring that timeline down to minutes by routing transactions over a blockchain network.
Nomura will take responsibility for client onboarding, regulatory compliance, and integration with existing Japanese banking infrastructure.
Circle will supply the USDC payment rails through Circle Japan, its local entity that already works with SBI Holdings on domestic distribution.
The move follows Japan’s Financial Services Agency clearing USDC under updated payment rules, making it the first global dollar stablecoin approved for domestic corporate use in the country.
Target use cases include cross-border supplier payments, transfers between overseas subsidiaries, and corporate foreign exchange settlement.
Circle issued USDC carries a market capitalisation of approximately $73.8 billion, ranking it as the second-largest dollar-backed stablecoin globally.
The Circle-Nomura deal follows Ripple’s own Japanese expansion, with the company launching its RLUSD stablecoin through SBI VC Trade just one day earlier after securing separate approval from the Financial Services Agency.
