Japan SC 4 -camp comparison · under the §501(d) lens, SBI Circle = #1

Wiki route

This entry sits under fintech index. Read it with Japan Financial Regulation — Legal Framework for Tokens, Crypto Assets, and Payments for adjacent context and Three-Layer Structure of Japan's Stablecoin Regulatory Regime (JPYC, USDC, Project Pax) for the broader system boundary.

[!info] TL;DR Japan SC 4 -camp configuration: Progmat (trust type · 3 megabanks) / JPYC (funds-transfer-operator type · 岡部典孝) / SBI Circle Holdings (USDC monopoly · 北尾吉孝) / みんなの銀行 (bank type, Solana · 永吉健一). Re-ranked under the §501(d) jurisdiction-list lens: SBI Circle Holdings = #1, because it is the sole channel of the cross-border-compliance champion USDC ↔ JPYC. Project Pax does not solve §501(d); it solves only SWIFT compatibility.

Key facts

• 4 camps: Progmat / JPYC / SBI-Circle / みんなの銀行 ^•
• Progmat 2028 target: 1 兆円 ^•
• JPYC 2028 target: 10 兆円 within 3 years ^•
• SBI Circle Holdings established 2025-08 · 50/50 fifty-fifty equity · monopoly sales of USDC in Japan ^•
• Under the §501(d) lens, SBI-Circle’s rating rises from #3 to #1 ★★★★★ ^•
• Progmat falls from #1 to #3 ★★★ ^•
• Project Pax = does not solve §501(d) · solves only SWIFT compatibility ^•
• Key figures: 岡部典孝 (JPYC) · 北尾吉孝 (SBI HD) · 永吉健一 (みんなの銀行) · 齊藤達哉 (Progmat) ^•

Mechanism / How it works

4 -camp detail:

Re-ranking under the §501(d) lens:

Core logic: under the §501(d) listing-list lens, cross-border-compliance capability > domestic scale. SBI Circle Holdings’ monopoly sales of USDC mean an automatic connection to the §501(d) US-dollar bloc — a capability that none of Progmat / JPYC / みんなの銀行 possesses. Project Pax’s 3 -megabank cross-border SC project solves only SWIFT compatibility (the technical layer); it does not solve §501(d) compliance (the legal layer).

Origin & evolution

2023-06 the EPI 3 -type takes effect → 2024 年 the 3 megabanks’ Progmat XJPY + JPYC circulation grow simultaneously → 2025-08 SBI Circle Holdings’ 50/50 joint-venture establishment shifts the configuration → 2026-Q1 JPYC circulation 21 億円 + 6 万 holders + 2.6 x growth in 3 months → 2026-05 under the §501(d) lens SBI-Circle rises to #1 . 2028 projected final configuration: SBI-Circle cross-border + JPYC retail + Progmat wholesale B2B + みんなの銀行 regional. For an overview of the Japanese license framework, see Financial licenses.

Related

• Wiki Index
• Japan EPI three-type architecture · trust type / bank type / funds-transfer-operator type overview
• Japan trust-type SC architecture
• The jurisdiction list as a tool of monetary protectionism
• U.S. / EU / Japan \"three major circles\" stablecoin global compliance architecture

Sources