cryptonews.net
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG), the holding company of Japan’s second-largest bank Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), is set to unveil its own stablecoin. The effort reportedly involves a partnership with Ava Labs, the creator of the Avalanche blockchain, and Fireblocks, a platform for storing and transferring digital assets.
The initiative aims to provide instant, 24/7 cross-border payments that could reduce reliance on legacy infrastructure like SWIFT, which can be delayed by differences in bank and intermediary business hours.
SMBC plans to partner with Japanese IT company TIS to conduct pilot tests of the stablecoin project in the fourth quarter of 2025 or early 2026. If the tests are successful, the actual issuance should follow later this year. The bank’s move to stablecoins is part of a larger trend in the financial industry, with major banks like JPMorgan and Citi exploring similar blockchain solutions to create better and faster payment systems.
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