JPYC extends Series B to about ¥6 billion ($38M)

JPYC, a Japanese yen stablecoin issuer, extended its Series B funding round to about ¥6 billion ($38 million) after logistics group AZ-COM Maruwa Holdings joined the round, the company announced on Wednesday.

The company did not disclose the exact amount added in the extension or the size of AZ-COM’s investment. The round’s cumulative total rose by about ¥1 billion from roughly ¥5 billion that JPYC announced in May. JPYC did not provide financial terms for the capital and business alliance with AZ-COM.

Local reports indicated AZ-COM had considered investing more than ¥1 billion and explored using the stablecoin to pay about 2,300 delivery partners and contractors.

JPYC described combining its yen-pegged token with AZ-COM’s logistics network as a way to support on-chain finance that links commercial activity, logistics and payment flows, potentially enabling automated settlement along supply chains.

The company did not provide further specifics on the partnership or on planned pilot programs and did not respond to requests for comment.

Yen-pegged stablecoins have attracted interest from Japanese firms seeking faster settlement and lower transaction costs for domestic and cross-border payments. Corporations and payment platforms in Japan have run pilot programs for payroll, supplier payments and point-of-sale settlement.

JPYC plans to apply the funds to expand its services across financial and Web3 applications and to encourage wider use of its yen-denominated token. The company has not given a timeline for commercial rollouts or for additional investor participation.