License for the first yen stablecoin operator in the USA

New York has given a stablecoin pegged to the Japanese yen its first ever approval to operate in the United States.

According to a statement on Tuesday, the New York financial services regulator NYDFS of the Japanese company GMO-Z.com has a license for stablecoins in New York grantedpegged to the US dollar and yen.

Given that New York is considered a global center, the NYDFS is the most prominent state financial regulator in the United States and one of the most aggressive too. A license to operate in New York often opens doors for a company to the rest of the country.

The GMO bylaws are more of a trust company with limited liability than a full bank. The main difference is that the latter has the authority to manage deposits. A stablecoin operator typically needs authorization to hold reserves of the asset in question. However, the GMO’s bylaws restrict the company’s rights to hold other types of deposits that are not central to the “issue, management and redemption” of its stablecoins.

The granting of such permissions is also a Point of contention between state regulators such as the NYDFS and national banking regulators in the United States.

Commenting on this, GMO President and CEO Ken Nakamura said: “We are breaking new ground with our plan to issue the first regulated stablecoin linked to the JPY. This is seen by many as a safe haven.”

NYDFS recently made changes to their famous BitLicense. This also includes a new regulation that brings newly licensed companies together with existing licensees. The first conditional BitLicense went to PayPal, which was able to bring its new crypto services onto the market in autumn with the help of long-term licensee Paxos.

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