Japan Stablecoin Race Just Got a Major Boost JPYC Inc., behind the the yen-pegged stablecoin ethereum:0xe7c3d8c9a439fede00d2600032d5db0be71c3c29, has raised $38 million in an extended Series B round to expand its yen stablecoin ecosystem. The company plans to accelerate JPYC adoption across payments and Web3 services. Logistics giant AZ-COM Maruwa plans to use JPYC for contractor fees and salaries. Japan's stablecoin market is also seeing growing interest from major financial institutions.

Had a great time in Tokyo last week with @KaiaChain and @jpyc_official. 🇯🇵 Lots of thoughtful discussions around JPYC, stablecoin adoption, cross-border payments, and the future of Asia’s digital financial network. This is exactly the direction we’re building toward at Pieverse: agent-native payments, messaging-native commerce, and practical stablecoin adoption. Great conversations, great energy, and more to build!

Projects Fundraising on RootData (Aug 3 - Aug 9) Last week, 11 blockchain companies/projects received funding. 💎 @yellowcard_app — Licensed stablecoins infrastructure provider, raised $40M in strategic funding from @scventuresDNA, @Sony_Innov_Fund, @polychaincap, @bcap & others. 💎 @jpyc_official — Japanese Yen stablecoin, raised $38M in Series B2 from AZ-COM Maruwa Holdings. 💎 @vangrid_io — DePin infrastructure, raised $9M in seed round from @HashKey_Capital, @Cryptocom_Cap, @animocabrands & others. 💎 @Magne_Ai — AI-native Web3 smartphone, raised $2.64M in strategic round from @GaeaVentures, @Titans_ventures & @0x_Go2Mars.

.@KaiaChain, the EVM-compatible Layer 1 built for stablecoin settlement and onchain finance across Asia, has selected Hypernative to secure its chain and its incubated DeFi platform: SuperEarn. The choice cleared Kaia's Governance Council, with members including Kakao, LINE, Animoca Brands, Binance, HashKey, and Hex Trust, then passed a public vote on Kaia's governance forum. Kaia brings together the Kakao and LINE ecosystems and moves capital across Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia on native USDT, JPYC, and a growing roster of local stablecoins. As that liquidity flows into onchain finance and RWAs a tap away inside LINE, Kaia now runs real-time onchain monitoring and automated response across the ecosystem, starting with SuperEarn and extending to the projects and stablecoin issuers building on the chain. Read how it came together:

Japan is going all-in on stablecoins right now. Just days ago, Japan’s FSA finalized new rules clarifying the legal status of foreign trust-based stablecoins, creating a clear pathway for them to operate in Japan as Electronic Payment Instruments effective June 1. This builds on the LDP’s push for a national AI and blockchain financial system with strong support for yen stablecoins and tokenized deposits. And right on cue LINE, one of Asia’s biggest super-apps with 200 million monthly active users across Japan, Taiwan, Thailand & Indonesia, rolled out official JPYC, a yen-pegged stablecoin, support in its Unifi wallet on May 22 for real payments, transfers & rewards. But what most don’t realize is that there’s a little-known blockchain quietly powering the efficient settlement behind LINE’s Unifi rollout and broader Asia expansion. It’s Kaia. Just 2 days after launch, JPYC circulation on Kaia already surpassed ¥100 million. Not only that, South Korea’s largest bank, KB Kookmin piloted KRW stablecoin for offline QR payments and global remittances on Kaia. It also already has native USDT and plans for multiple Asian currency stables with Unifi. $KAIA seems like it’s quietly shaping up to be a sleeping giant for the Asian stablecoin sector. One to monitor closely as the Asian stablecoin market grows and gets clear regulations.

Another huge week for the entire PayFi Ecosystem and the partners we’re building alongside. Headlines ↓ 1️⃣ Huma’s PST topped $200M market cap, now one of the fastest-growing yield assets and a top 3 yield-bearing asset on @Solana. 2️⃣ @galaxyhq joined @Morpho as a curator via @FireblocksHQ Earn, launching institutional stablecoin vaults with Huma’s PST among the first assets in the mix. 3️⃣ Nordic asset manager Alfakraft Fonder teamed up with @Bitwise to build digital asset investment solutions for professional investors across Europe. 4️⃣ @Visa launched the Visa Stablecoin Platform with Open USD, enabling banks and fintechs to mint, move, and manage stablecoins across 200M+ merchants. 5️⃣ @circle signed MOUs with Kakao and Toss Bank to explore won-backed stablecoins and USDC payment rails in South Korea. 6️⃣ @Morpho shipped Midnight on Base, enabling fixed-rate, fixed-term lending markets and unlocking new PayFi opportunities. 7️⃣ The Middle East Stablecoin Association officially incorporated in the @DIFC, creating a formal hub for stablecoin policy, research, and industry collaboration. 8️⃣ @FTDA_US forecasts AI Agents driving trillions in blockchain commerce by 2030. 9️⃣ Japan’s AZ-COM Maruwa, a major logistics partner to Amazon, will roll out JPYC stablecoin payments to 2,300 subcontractors. 🔟 @Samsung is adding native stablecoin support to Samsung Wallet, bringing blockchain payments to hundreds of millions of Galaxy users.