Japan has always been a bridge between tradition and innovation, with a cultural heritage of centuries and a world-leading technology industry. That duality is currently accelerating to finance and blockchain. Cashless payments have skyrocketed from 13% in 2010 to 42.8% in 2024, exceeding the government’s 40% target for the year. At the same time, the Japanese blockchain market is projected to expand to around $75 billion (88.8% CAGR) from $499 million in 2022 by 2030, with a broad forecast of $251.8 billion by 2033.
Against this rapid digital adoption, avalanches have emerged as the reliable foundation for Japanese experiments in tokenization, mobility, stubcoins and digital currencies. From premium collectors to regulated financial products, avalanche speed, flexibility and modular design drive innovation across the industry.
Tradition meets tokenization: Bowmore x Suntory
Heritage brands are finding new ways to attract collectors. Bowmore, one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries and part of the Suntory family, has teamed up with Avalanche to launch the first tokenized whiskey bottle in history.
The collection debuted in two layers: Bowmore’s 30-year-old Collector’s Edition and Bowmore’s 12-year-old Edition. It closes with 150 bottles and offers a more accessible entrance for enthusiasts.
Each bottle is a high-performance C-chain of avalanches, tied to one NFT of the number. NFC tags embedded in the bottle provide tamper-proof certification, but reding can be done directly with token2049. Buyers can claim NFTs through the Suntory website using both Crypto wallets or traditional email logins, Web3 natives and traditional whiskey collectors.
Beyond the bottle, the holder also has access to the first ever Bowmore community. This member-mounter includes exclusive branded products, early access to news about upcoming releases, and priority invitations to purchase future limited edition bottles through invitation-only sales. For collectors, it’s an entry into a curated community experience that combines tradition, exclusivity and digital-first access, not just the ownership of rare whiskeys.
Rethinking Mobility: Toyota Blockchain Lab
As the Japanese automotive industry rethinks vehicle ownership and financing, Toyota Blockchain Lab has turned into an avalanche to prototype new models of the mobility network.
Coordinating the newly released technological Mon:Mon:Trust into the mobility ecosystem, Toyota Blockchain Lab explores how blockchain interconnects funding, ownership and vehicle lifecycle services across the industry. Rather than a single monolithic chain, this paper envisions a multi-network world where specialized systems of assets, finance and services interoperate. Avalanche Architecture – Fully EVM compatible and interoperable application-specific Layer 1 was chosen as the backbone of the prototype.
This prototype showed the advantages of an avalanche: the finality of the second subsecond, high throughput, and the ability to launch dedicated blockchains that can cooperate without sacrificing speed.
This approach could reshape the global automotive fintech market, which is projected to exceed $112 billion by 2031. In December 2024, US car loans alone totaled $67 billion, revealing the demand for a transparent and efficient system. Avalanche performance in powering tokenized marketplaces demonstrates its ability to handle finance at scale.
“The concept of “mon” is a thoughtful and sophisticated approach to the future of the mobility ecosystem. It was a meaningful experience to show how Avalanche architecture can support the flexible, interoperable vision that Toyota has devised. ” – Roi Hirata, head of Japan at AVA Labs
All other chains are in one lane. The avalanche is the highway.
Building a Financial Rail: Simplex POC
Stablecoins are moving from theory to financial-grade infrastructure. Tokyo-based Simplex has partnered with AVA Labs to provide a proof of concept demonstrating that Avalanche and Avacloud can provide the performance and availability needed to use commercial Stablecoin.
Combined with POC:
Simplex Stablecoin – Issuance and Repayment System
Simplex 4th – Secure Wallet and Private Key Management
Avacloud, Avalanche’s managed L1 service, is used to spin up private L1 chains in minutes
result:
Throughput: 1000 or more transactions per second
Latency: ~1 second for the finality of the transfer
High availability: Multi-region redundancy without performance degradation
For financial institutions, these metrics prove that avalanches can handle the reliability and speed required by payments, escrow, and payment networks.
By leveraging Avacloud’s no-code subnet deployment, Simplex demonstrates how it can build a Stablecoin infrastructure that meets financial services level standards. This removes the barriers for newcomers and expands the use of stablecoin beyond issuance and redemption, and beyond real-world payments and remittances.
As the Stablecoin market accelerates globally, avalanches have emerged as an infrastructure of choice for Japanese companies seeking high-performance, regulatory systems.
Financial Scale: Densan and SMBC Group
Japanese stubcoins have moved beyond theory to real financial infrastructure. Under the Landmark Agreement, Densan System and SMBC Group, one of Japan’s three megabanks, are working with the avalanche to jointly consider Stubcoinbase services through issuance, distribution, payments and operations.
The collaboration reflects the momentum created by Japan’s revised Payment Services Act. This legally places stubcoins as “electronic payment methods.” With this clarity of regulations, Densan and SMBC should see the opportunity to leverage Avalanche’s blockchain infrastructure to make payments faster, cheaper and more efficient than existing rails.
Potential use cases are broad:
International remittances bypass legacy brokers
B2B settlements with faster finality and cost reductions
Consumer payments and leverage Densan’s vast network of convenience and drug stores across Japan
Densan brings decades of experience as a pioneer in Japan’s payment infrastructure, and SMBC adds the reliability and reach of one of the largest banks in the country. Together, they aim to not only test use cases, but also pursue ongoing business applications and commercialization. This is an important step beyond one-off POC experiments.
Regulated Currency: JPYC Stablecoin
In one of the most important milestones in Japan’s blockchain landscape, JPYC has been approved as the first remittance business approved to issue stubcoins supported by the yen under the revised Payment Services Act.
The new JPYC Stablecoin is supported 1:1 by Japanese yen held in deposits and government bonds and is classified as an “electronic payment instrument” under Japanese law, which is different from volatile crypto assets. This clarity of regulations allows all JPYC tokens to be redeemed on demand for Fiat Yen.
JPYC, launched in Avalanche, brings circle stability to a programmable and interoperable blockchain. Businesses and individuals can use JPYC for cross-border payments, Defi, and digital commerce thanks to regulatory oversight and guaranteed avalanche proven performance.
Release marks a turning point. For the first time, Japanese users will have access to fully compliant on-chain yen that seamlessly integrates financial applications.
Close thoughts
From cultural icons like Bowmore Whiskey to regulating financial infrastructure using JPYC, avalanches are embedded in the future of Japan’s blockchain. Toyota’s research shows avalanches as an architecture for multi-chain mobility networks. Simplex proves that your network can deliver Stablecoin grade performance.
Common threads are clear. Whether it’s collectibles, vehicles, payments, or the currency itself, Avalanches offer speed, compliance and modular design for Japanese innovators’ demand. The avalanches do not only enter the APAC region. Tradition, industry and finance are becoming the foundations for converging on-chain.
