JPYC, issuer of Japanese Yen-pegged stablecoin, raises JPY 500 Million in Series A from Headline Asia, Circle Ventures, and Others
TOKYO, 10 Nov, 2021: JPYC Inc. (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Noritaka Okabe), a company that issues JPYC, a Japanese Yen-pegged stablecoin as a prepaid payment instrument in Japan, announced that it has raised approximately 500 million yen (*) in Series A funding round led by Headline Asia, with participation from Circle Ventures, and other Japanese and global investors.
(*) About $4,410,000
Among the new investors, Headline Asia (formerly known as Infinity Ventures), is a global independent venture capital firm that manages USD 300M in total across four funds focusing on Asia. Circle Ventures is the venture capital arm of Circle, the principal operator of USD Cin (USDC), a US dollar-pegged stablecoin.
Through this fundraising, JPYC Inc. aims to strengthen its position as a JPYC issuer, improve its operational and development capabilities, and acquire prepaid payment instruments for third-party business.
JPYC Inc.’s Series A was led by Headline Asia, and included investments by Circle Ventures, i-nest capital, and JPYC Employee Stock Ownership Association.
■ Comments from our investors
▼Headline Asia
Akio Tanaka, Partner.
Jonathan M. Hayashi, Senior Associate.
Headline Asia is confident that the era of Web 3.0, built on blockchain technology and the token economy, is coming. Meanwhile, we are concerned about the current situation in Japan, where individuals and institutional investors have yet to get involved in the token economy, which is dominated by cryptocurrencies.
We are honored to lead JPYC Inc.’s Series A. JPYC (JPYCoin), the Japanese Yen stablecoin, has the potential to change the situation dramatically.
Together with Circle, the issuer of USDC, and Infinity Ventures Crypto (IVC), which invests in crypto startups globally, Headline Asia looks forward to supporting JPYC Inc. in its adventure.
▼Circle
Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder & CEO.
JPYC represents the kind of innovation and project Circle Ventures aims to support. The team at JPYC is thinking outside the box to adhere to regulatory framework parameters while still tapping into the value that digital currency can offer the world.
▼i-nest Capital
Takashi Yamanaka, General Partner.
Yuji Hojoe, Principal.
JPYC (JPYCoin) is an innovative product that was born of strict regulation in Japan and has grown rapidly being supported by its community.
In the future, when it is to be granted the prepaid payment instrument license for third-party business, it would become an essential role in realizing a digital society in Japan.
With Circle, the issuer of USDC becoming its shareholder, we expect JPYC to become the leader in Japan’s public chain ecosystem and provide positive influence to other projects around the world.
About JPYC Inc.
JPYC Inc. was founded in November 2019. In January 2021, it issued JPYC, Japanese Yen-pegged stablecoin, as Japan’s first ERC20 prepaid payment instrument for own business. JPYC Inc. is actively partnering with various compatible businesses in order to increase JPYC users.
◾️ Company Information
・Company Name: JPYC Inc.
・CEO: Noritaka Okabe
・Location: FINOLAB, 1 Chome-6–1 Ōtemachi, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 100–0004, Japan
・Founded date: November 2019
・Service: Issuer of ERC20 prepaid payment instrument for own business and consulting services for all aspects of blockchain including NFT
・Memberships: Member of Blockchain Collaborative Consortium(BCCC)
Type one Member of Japan Payment Service Association
Regular member of Japan DeFi Association
・Audit: Akari Audit & Co.
・URL: https://jcam.co.jp/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jpy_coin 【English】
https://twitter.com/jcam_official 【Japanese】
