Japan’s Financial Services Agency Advances Transition to the Crypto Asset Money Lending Act and Simultaneously Launches Three Stablecoin Payment Pilot Projects

According to CoinPost, at the “9th BCCC Collaborative Day” held on April 21, 2026, Mr. Shigeharu Shimizu, Chief of the Risk Analysis Division, General Policy Bureau of Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA), delivered a special keynote speech revealing significant progress in cryptocurrency regulation. The FSA has submitted a bill to the extraordinary Diet session proposing to transfer cryptocurrency assets from the Payment Services Act to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. The bill centers on four key regulatory enhancements: strengthened disclosure requirements, establishment of a new category for independent operators, stricter penalties for unregistered operators, and comprehensive insider trading regulations. Meanwhile, the FSA is advancing three “Payment Innovation Projects (PIPs)” pilot experiments: 1) A cross-border yen stablecoin payment trial involving Japan’s three major banks; 2) On-chain settlement of government bonds, social bonds, and equities using blockchain technology, aiming to enable 24/7 continuous trading; and 3) A bank-to-bank tokenized deposit transfer experiment, which received official support on April 3 this month and will be coordinated with the Bank of Japan’s central bank reserve tokenization sandbox initiative. Mr. Shimizu stated that blockchain holds tremendous potential to enhance the convenience and diversification of financial services, and the FSA will continue advancing institutional development and practical implementation support.