New York Licenses GMO Internet for JPY-Pegged Stablecoin

The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has granted approval for GMO Internet, a company headquartered in Tokyo, to introduce GYEN, a pioneering stablecoin directly linked in value to the Japanese yen.

GMO Internet, a diversified internet company providing numerous services – encompassing domain registration, online marketing, and the operation of what it asserts is the globe’s leading foreign currency exchange platform – will establish GMO-Z.com Trust Company (GMO Trust) to facilitate the issuance of GYEN and ZUSD, a stablecoin valued against the US dollar. Sales of both cryptocurrencies will commence internationally in the coming month.

According to a recent announcement from GMO Trust, the company has also forged key alliances with prominent international digital asset exchanges to guarantee sufficient trading volume for these virtual currencies. The creation of GYEN was initiated in 2018.

GMO Trust is now among approximately twenty companies that have been awarded virtual currency licenses, known as BitLicenses, by the NYSDFS. These BitLicenses, implemented in June 2015, are mandatory for any entity conducting virtual currency business operations within New York State. Other Asian-based firms currently holding BitLicenses include bitflyer, a Bitcoin exchange from Japan, and Xapo, a digital wallet provider located in Hong Kong.