Circle and Nomura join forces to target a $440 billion daily foreign exchange market in Japan

Nomura (Hamihoko/Wikimedia Commons) — Nomura Holdings has partnered with Circle to target a massive foreign exchange market with USDC for faster, lower-cost transactions. (Hamihoko/Wikimedia Commons)

Circle and Nomura plan to launch a USDC-based digital asset settlement and corporate payment service in Japan as early as 2027, allowing businesses to swap yen for the dollar-pegged stablecoin.
The service will target Japan’s sizable import, export and corporate currency markets by using blockchain to cut cross-border and foreign-exchange transfer times from days to minutes.
The partnership follows Japan’s updated payment rules that cleared USDC for local corporate use, with Nomura overseeing client onboarding, regulatory compliance and integration with existing banking systems.

Boston-based stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Financial announced a partnership on Thursday with Japanese financial conglomerate Nomura Holdings to launch a digital asset settlement business. The firms plan to deploy a corporate payment service in Japan as early as 2027.

The agreement will let Japanese businesses exchange yen for USDC, Circle's U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, according to the announcement first reported by Nikkei. USDC is the world’s second-largest dollar-pegged stablecoin, boasting a market cap of $73.8 billion as of this writing.

The Circle stablecoin token can be used for cross-border supplier payments, transfers between overseas affiliates, and foreign exchange settlements.

The business aims at Japan's import, export, and corporate currency markets. Bank for International Settlements data shows that Japan's foreign exchange market handled $440 billion in daily transactions as of 2025. Standard bank wires take two to three business days to clear funds between yen and foreign currencies. This blockchain setup can drastically reduce that transfer time.

The Circle-Nomura deal follows changes to local laws. Japan’s Financial Services Agency cleared USDC under its updated payment rules, making it the first global dollar stablecoin allowed for local corporate use. Circle operates this network through Circle Japan, its local branch that already handles distribution with SBI Holdings.

Nomura will handle client onboarding in Japan, address regulatory requirements and connect the platform to existing banking systems.

Over the next year, the partners expect to put the remaining infrastructure in place, strengthen custody arrangements, and complete the banking integrations needed before the planned 2027 rollout.

Disclosure & Polices: CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of Bullish (NYSE:BLSH), an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services. Bullish owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets and CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish equity-based compensation.