Bitcoin’s move above $74,000 is being supported by an unexpected macro tailwind from Japan, as the Bank of Japan’s cautious stance on interest rates helps sustain global liquidity conditions favorable to risk assets.

Japan has approved a bill moving cryptocurrency under financial securities law, introducing insider trading rules, stricter penalties, and annual disclosure requirements for issuers.

Mitsubishi will use JPMorgan’s blockchain to speed up global payments. The network also supports asset tokenisation, showing rising corporate use of blockchain.

Startale Group raised $63 million in a Series A round, with $50 million from SBI Group and $13 million from Sony Innovation Fund. The funding will be used to scale Strium for tokenized securities, expand yen and dollar stablecoins, and develop Startale’s app into a consumer SuperApp.

Japan is doubling down on a single stablecoin bet — and USD Coin is emerging as the clear winner.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has begun technical experiments using blockchain technology to test the settlement of deposits held at the central bank, marking a significant step in its exploration of distributed ledger systems within core financial infrastructure.

The Bank of Japan is testing how central bank deposits could be used for settlements on blockchain systems through a controlled sandbox project. Governor Kazuo Ueda said the trials will explore connections with existing payment systems and potential uses like interbank and securities settlement.

SBI Holdings and Startale Group have launched JPYSC, Japan’s first trust bank-backed yen stablecoin for corporate and cross-border use. The stablecoin will be issued by SBI Shinsei Trust Bank, distributed via SBI VC Trade, and is set to launch in the second quarter of 2026 pending regulatory approval.

DSRV and SBI Ripple Asia have launched joint research to use the XRP Ledger to make cross-border payments between South Korea and Japan faster, cheaper and clearer. The project will test how blockchain can work with today’s banking systems and rules in both countries, rather than replace them.

Nomura tightened risk controls at its crypto unit, Laser Digital, after trading losses at the business helped drive a 9.7% drop in fiscal third-quarter profit. The move followed a sharp crypto market crash after bitcoin’s October record high, which hit the unit’s trading positions.