[REVISION HISTORY]

Financial institutions digital asset and settlement adoption

Updated 5 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-09-04 22:03 UTC → 2026-09-07 12:12 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Financial institutions in Japan and globally are advancing digital asset and blockchain-based settlement infrastructures. In Japan, a study group involving the Financial Services Agency, Ministry of Finance, and Bank of Japan is working to develop a blockchain settlement system for stocks and Japanese government bonds. This initiative aims to transition from current T+1 and T+2 settlement cycles to near-instant, 24/7 settlement by tokenizing Bank of Japan current account deposits. Simultaneously, major banking groups are expanding into the stablecoin market. Japan’s three largest banking groups—Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation—have formed a council to establish governance standards, targeting commercial stablecoin transactions by March 2027. On a global scale, a consortium of 21 major financial institutions, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citi, Deutsche Bank, and UBS, is moving forward with plans to issue dollar-pegged stablecoins. This ~~group, which expanded from an initial 10-bank exploratory~~ group ~~in October 2025,~~ intends to formally establish a new dedicated entity in the second half of ~~2026. The consortium targets~~ 2026, with a market launch targeted for the ~~USD-denominated stablecoin in the~~ first half of 2027. The consortium has recently expanded to include Standard Bank, the only African representative in the group. Standard Bank’s participation follows its digital initiatives, including the Aroko platform and ZARU, an institutional stablecoin indexed to the South African rand launched in February 2026. The planned stablecoin is designed to be 1:1 reserve-backed and operate on public blockchains to support wholesale, institutional, and retail ~~markets, specifically targeting cross-border payments and digital asset settlements. The venture aims to compete with established market leaders such as Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC).~~ markets. Following the initial dollar launch, the group plans to expand offerings to other G7 currencies, prioritizing the euro, while ensuring compliance with the GENIUS Act in the United States and the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation in the European Union.

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