Japan’s second largest bank SMBC plans Avalanche stablecoin: report

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, the parent company of the second largest bank in Japan, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, plans to launch its own stablecoin.

THE stable project, according to a report Posted on April 1, 2025 by Nikkei, will be a collaboration between the banking giant and the crypto projects avalanche (Avax) and the objects of fire.

More specifically, the report stresses that SMBC joins forces with Ava Labs, the developer team behind the avalanche blockchain.

The SMBC Stablecoin company follows a Previous move In 2024, which involved the financial group Sumitomo Mitsui and two other Japanese and banking financial services, the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and the Mizuho Financial Group. The partners would have watched a pilot for a cross -border company for the transfer of Stablecoin, which implies Progress and Datachain.

In the latest report, Nikkei says that SMBC will open with Japan-The information technology company based on TIS. The partnership aims to carry out tests for the new Stablecoin project in the fourth quarter of 2025 or at the beginning of 2026. If successful, live issuance should follow later in the year.

SMBC, like the other banks that turn to Stablescoins for improving features and instant monetary transfers, is not new in the blockchain area.

In February 2019, the bank’s technological team completed Proof of blockchain concept for payment commitments on Marco Polo Trade Finance, a platform developed by R3. SMBC was part of a consortium that included Commerzbank, BNP Paribas, Anglo-Gulf Trade Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Danske Bank.

At the back of the R3 Marco Polo Trade Initiative, SMBC deepened in the blockchain ecosystem with another agreement. He sought to scan his commercial financing offer with a blockchain touch, this time join the hands With a contour based in Singapore in July 2020.

These efforts have now changed towards the development of stablescoin, which arouses growing interests in the financial services industry. This includes large banks like JPMorgan and Citi, which have made significant progress using authorized blockchains.