AltX Research K.K. is pleased to announce that finoject Inc. has joined as a Vision Partner for "MIZUHIKI: The Japan Chain," the stablecoin payment infrastructure it is developing.
"MIZUHIKI: The Japan Chain" is a Japan-sovereign, Ethereum-equivalent L1 blockchain built for regulated stablecoin payments at scale. Designed to help stablecoin issuers unlock their full potential, the platform offers the flexibility to support diverse real-world payment and remittance needs. SpeedLane Payments delivers sub-second deterministic finality - the same confirmation speed consumers expect from a card terminal. No gas token required: users pay in the stablecoin they already hold. The MIZUHIKI Compliance Suite provides KYC, AML screening, and risk management at the platform layer, shared infrastructure that every project on the network can use without building from scratch. Pay for compliance once; share it across every application on MIZUHIKI. The revenue-share model returns a portion of on-chain transaction fees to stablecoin issuers, enabling them to earn from transaction volume, not just reserve yields, creating a sustainable stablecoin economy even in Japan's low interest rate environment.
As a payment solution to accelerate the digital finance ecosystem, "MIZUHIKI: The Japan Chain" also offers a payment service provider (PSP) service. The MIZUHIKI PSP enables customers to pay in stablecoins while merchants receive settlement in JPY. Gas abstraction ensures a seamless payment experience - no native token required. Accepted stablecoins, including USDC, USDT, and JPYC, are managed via a strict whitelist to minimize volatility and compliance risk. Merchant settlements are remitted monthly in JPY, with no crypto exposure or custody burden. The service is purpose-built for high-value transactions (¥1M+), cross-border commerce, and inbound consumption, resolving the limitations of traditional payment rails including card declines, FX spreads, and transfer friction. For foreign tourists and overseas buyers navigating credit card limits and the complexity of international transfers, the MIZUHIKI PSP offers the most efficient and seamless payment solution available.
Through this partnership, finoject and MIZUHIKI plan to work closely together in the following areas:
1. Strengthening the compliance infrastructure
Drawing on the insights from the cross-industry digital asset AML pilot planned and operated by finoject (the first round in 2025 with 12 participating companies including Hitachi, NTT Digital and Nomura Holdings, and the second round in 2026 as a project supported by the FSA's FinTech Proof-of-Concept Hub), the two companies will jointly design AML/eKYC, transaction monitoring, Travel Rule compliance and related functions on MIZUHIKI. The aim is to make MIZUHIKI a more complete "shared infrastructure" that issuers, PSPs and other relevant businesses can use in common.
2. Expanding the stablecoin PSP
For the PSP that lets customers pay in stablecoins while merchants receive Japanese yen, the companies will leverage finoject's AML/CFT expertise and its relationships with payment and financial service providers in Japan and abroad to identify business opportunities with, and make introductions to, merchants and partners for inbound and cross-border commerce.
3. Commercializing a digital benefits platform for local governments
For the stablecoin-based benefits platform that lets residents receive and use payments with only their My Number Card (already selected for PoCs by multiple local governments), the companies will build a business structure that includes local governments and regional financial institutions and roll it out to municipalities.
4. Creating new businesses
By combining finoject's customer base (financial institutions, major corporations, security token businesses and others) with MIZUHIKI's network of Vision Partners, the companies aim to jointly create new businesses in regulation-compliant stablecoin use cases, such as delivery-versus-payment (DvP) settlement of security tokens with stablecoins and B2B payments.
By combining finoject's expertise, whose strengths lie in financial regulatory compliance and building compliance frameworks, with MIZUHIKI's compliance functions built into the platform layer, the two companies will work to realize a next-generation digital finance world where every kind of economic activity connects seamlessly.
