Japan wrote the first stablecoin rulebook — so why is the US pulling ahead?

“Japan prizes systemic stability above innovation speed, while the US is signaling a bigger market-opening play,” said Startale Group’s Takashi Tezuka.

While the US GENIUS Act is being celebrated as a market catalyst for stablecoin adoption, Japan’s earlier reforms show the flip side: Clarity doesn’t automatically translate into immediate real-world utility. 

Japan had the world’s first comprehensive stablecoin regime in 2023, but adoption has been muted. Licensed issuers exist on paper, yet there’s no thriving yen-stablecoin economy.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Takashi Tezuka, country manager at Web3 infrastructure developer Startale Group, said the adoption gap between the US and Japan reflects a philosophical difference in regulatory design.

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