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Compiled by: Bitchain Vision
On August 25, the WebX 2025 conference was held in Tokyo, Japan.Heath Tarbert, former chairman of the US CFTC, chief legal officer and head of corporate affairs at Circle, and Katayama Hirotsuki, a senator from the Liberal Democratic Party and chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, participated in the roundtable discussion on the supervision and application of stablecoin as the main topic.
During the roundtable discussion, Katayama Katayama clearly expressed its cautious attitude towards the central bank’s digital currency (CBDC), and her belief that stablecoins are an important entry point for the popularization of the crypto industry.She pointed out that the international community is concerned about the privacy and surveillance risks of CBDC, and there are voices in Japan who question its decentralized attributes. The House of Representatives even proposed a proposal to ban related exploration. Currently, CBDC is still in the research stage in Japan and has not yet entered the commercial promotion stage.Japan prefers to prioritize the development of stablecoins.Currently, the young group in Japan is the main holders of crypto assets. She pointed out that Japan is promoting the adjustment of cryptocurrency classification and plans to classify it from “miscellaneous income” into the regulatory scope of the Financial Instruments and Transactions Act to reduce the tax rate of up to 55% to 20% (in line with the United States). It is currently necessary to negotiate with multi-party parties and strive to finalize the plan by the end of the year.If the cryptocurrency tax rate adjustment is implemented, the application of stablecoins in daily trading may become more popular, and CBDC will not be the focus in the short term.She also revealed that Japan has collaborated with institutions such as the European Central Bank to study CBDC, but the progress is slow and will determine the direction in the future based on market demand and technological maturity.
Heath Tarbert pointed out that the U.S. crypto regulatory environment has undergone a major shift, from the rigorous past to support.The passage of the Genius Act is of great significance. For the first time, the stablecoins are essentially equated with cash, bringing the industry’s long-awaited regulatory clarity and laying the foundation for stablecoins to reserve 1:1 with high-quality liquid assets.However, the United States still has a lot of work to be promoted in digital asset supervision, such as clarifying other digital asset classifications, improving market structure legislation such as custody services and exchange rules, and the implementation details of the “Genius Act” have not yet been implemented.Speaking of stablecoins, Heath said its application scenarios are wide.In addition to achieving efficient entry and exit in crypto asset transactions, it can also serve as a reliable US dollar saving tool for people in non-G20 countries, reducing cross-border remittance costs by up to 6%-7%, and optimizing the cross-border transaction process of enterprises to achieve instant settlement and avoid foreign exchange fees.The Circle payment network connects global financial institutions with the help of USDC, providing an example of efficient exchange between different currencies.The United States is cautious in terms of central bank digital currencies.Heath mentioned that many people in the United States are worried about the privacy and surveillance risks of CBDC. The Genius Act actually bans the Federal Reserve from launching CBDC recently, and the US dollar on blockchain is more likely to exist in the form of a stablecoin in the future.
The main discussion content of Bitchain Vision is as follows for readers.
Host: What we will talk about next is the situation of the United States and Japan in cryptocurrency regulation and stablecoin promotion.
Let’s start with a macro perspective.Check out the latest developments in cryptocurrency regulation.If this group discussion was a year ago, it would have been a completely different conversation.So much has changed now.So, Heath Tarbert,Let’s describe it from a general perspectiveHow do you view the current situation of cryptocurrency regulation in the United States.What is the current situation?How is the progress?What are the highlights?What else needs improvement?How do you summarize the current situation?
Heath Tarbert: As you said, this is a drastic change.I think many Americans think that just a year or two ago, with the change in the outcome of the presidential election and the shift in the view of the bipartisan legislature, there was actually a war in the cryptocurrency space.
Now we have a very supportive government for cryptocurrency, which is working to provide the industry with regulatory clarity that it has longed for and needed for years.Japan has been deeply engaged in this area for many years and has established relevant systems.Therefore, the United States lags behind in the passage of the Genius Act.We will talk about in more detail later, this is a watershed moment, truly equating stablecoins with cash for the first time and providing sound regulation.But there is still a lot of work to be done, we have not yet fully regulated the market structure, but we are on the right track.
Host: Thank you.Ms. Katayama, how do you describe the current status of cryptocurrency regulation in Japan?
Katayama Katsuki: Before studying the situation in Japan, I went to Washington, D.C. in January this year to attend President Trump’s inauguration.There, I introduced SEC Chairman Adkins.They firmly believe that the direction of cryptocurrencies in the United States will not change, not only in investment, but also in payment and settlement.They are quickly preparing for the Genius Act.In Japan, there is the yen stablecoin JPYC.The business was registered last week, but we already have a relevant legislative system, or regulatory provisions for products and activities.But we have to think more.
This is very important.If I understand correctly, changing the classification may reduce the tax rate.
To be precise, how many accounts are there in Japan creating assets?Did you know?We already have 12 video accounts.This is more than playback accounts, and most are younger generations who are using it now.They are willing to serve it.But for the time being, it is classified as miscellaneous income with an income tax rate of 55%.So no one can sell it.If it is divided into financial instrument assets, sales and capital gains will be the same as they were originally, but the rest will drop to about 20%, roughly the same as in the United States.This is the key.
host: Yes, this is really important to those who don’t pay attention.
Katayama Katsuki: Basically, the current situation in Japan is that the tax rate can reach up to 55%, and the transfer of cryptocurrencies from the Payment Services Act to the Financial Commodity Exchange Act may reduce the tax rate to 20%, which is more consistent with the stock rate, and this change is expected to be realized within the next one or two years.
We must take control of the Financial Services Commission by the end of the year.I have always been the chairman of the Financial Services Committee, which has put forward this direction, and the Cabinet is very firm in the decision, but in Japanese politics we have lost a majority.
We have to negotiate with other political parties, which takes some time and will become slightly more complicated.However, several other political parties agree with us.So usually, we have to finalize the final plan by December.
host:Thanks.This is really important.We just discussed a very big challenge facing Japan, which is the high tax rate.I don’t want to talk too much about the exciting things that are happening in the US cryptocurrency industry at this moment.But obviously there are some challenges, at least I have a lot of opinions on this, but I want to hear from Heath.What other regulatory challenges do you think the United States has?Or have you seen something that worries you, or what else is to be done?
Heath Tarbert:Yes.First, I want to emphasize the good news: For the first time in modern American history, digital assets and cryptocurrencies are truly embraced, not just as an additional asset class, a new asset class, but as we once saw it as the future of the financial system itself, right?
The United States has realized that it is not just a fact, it fundamentally changes the financial system, just like the Internet fundamentally changes communications, right?Because that’s what we finally see.
So what are you going to do next?Stablecoin legislation is crucial because our view is that it provides the base currency layer for the financial system on the new internet.But we are not clear yet how other digital assets should be regulated.What is securities and what is commodity?So what about hosting services?What about the exchange?How should these assets be listed?How should it be treated?All of these rules have not been formulated and have not been legislated.So in the United States, we are currently focusing on legislation on market structure and hope to be passed by the end of the year.Meanwhile, even though the Genius Act has been passed, it has not been implemented.Therefore, under the Genius Act, regulators still need to formulate many rules.
This is our current situation.But as we said, the situation has changed significantly and we are heading in the right direction.
host: Yes, your point of view is good.Therefore, regulatory transparency issues have long been a pain point in the United States.I think Japan is actually leading the way in this regard, because you may not agree with all the regulations in Japan, but they are really clear and have been like this for a long time.So,What exactly is the CLARITY Act blocking it?Because there is indeed a bill that was supposed to solve these problems, but it has not been passed to this day.
Heath Tarbert: The good news is that the bill has been passed in the House of Representatives and is now under consideration in the Senate.Therefore, we hope that the Senate can make some comments on the CLARITY Act.They can pass their own version as soon as possible.But at the moment it seems that all parties generally believe that we need regulatory transparency.The United States has many great leaders, like those who sat next to me years ago, who saw the prospects of this technology and were actively working.But in the United States, we were in an environment where people would rather take people to court than actually tell some reasonable rules.
Now we finally see this happening, but we are still waiting for the Senate to take action.
host: So Japan actually regulated stablecoins long before the United States.Japan may be the first major economy in the world to regulate stablecoins.I have always said that American policy makers should have learned from Japan’s experience earlier.Ms. Katayama, I want to hear your opinion.What do you think most Japanese politicians are now on cryptocurrencies?My impression is that there are some people who are very supportive of cryptocurrencies, but others in Japanese politics don’t have that strong opinion on this, and I wonder if my impression is correct.is that so?Actually there are objections.
Katayama Katsuki: You are very right because I am not from the field of technology.I work in law, regulation and administration so I can’t understand the code.We know that something like this exists.I have to advocate, we’ve been talking about most of the matters.Another problem is that they are talking about things we don’t understand.But in order to pass legislation, we have to pass it everywhere.Public opinion is very important.Now it’s time to do so.To do this, the stablecoin is very good and runs stably.This is a way to pay, manage and improve efficiency.
host:certainly.Let’s continue to talk about stablecoins.This is a perfect transition.So Heath, please continue to ask you to talk about it, after all, we are not in the United States now.Can you briefly summarize what the Genius Act has done and what achievements have been achieved?Also, what I am really interested in is what work to do next and what challenges exist.You can just talk about it, I don’t think anyone knows it better than you.
Heath Tarbert:certainly.First of all, you ask how Japan learns from the United States, but I want to say that the United States is also learning from Japan.It is obvious that perhaps not every Japanese MP understands and appreciates cryptocurrency, but they have not overlooked the technology.They encourage action and move forward.I think this is very important.So when the Genius Act is discussed in the United States, we always mention Japan, saying that USDC is a stablecoin pegged to the dollar, but in Japan it has clearer regulatory provisions than in the United States.
So for your question, the good news is that the Genius Act passed last month.So what is the role of the Genius Act?Essentially, it legally establishes the “reserve” system for stablecoin issuance, that is, a one-to-one reserve system.Therefore, every stablecoin issued under the Genius Act must be supported by one-to-one high-quality liquid assets.Algorithms cannot be used, other types of assets cannot be used, and anything similar cannot be used. Each dollar must be supported by one dollar of treasury bonds and other safe assets.The bill also stipulates that transparency must be ensured and reserves must be reported.As a stablecoin holder, you can view various files on the website to see that it is indeed a one-to-one reserve.In addition, it requires third parties to audit and test whether these assets actually provide support.Finally, it also requires some kind of prudent regulation.All of these elements were implemented by Circle to some extent before the introduction of the Genius Act, but we were actively involved in the process of making the Genius Act.
So it is in line with the international community.It is very consistent with international standards.There is another very important aspect of the Genius Act, which is related to the international recognition my colleague just mentioned.If there are very similar rules and regulations under a stablecoin regulatory system outside the United States and the US government can recognize this, then this stablecoin can enter the United States.So this is a way that Japan’s system is recognized in the United States, just like hoping that one day Japan will also recognize the Genius Act.
host: OK, very well summarized.I have some follow-up questions, but I want to quickly return to the topic of Japan first, because I want to hear your opinion on the current situation of Japan’s stablecoin regulation.My understanding is that Japan has received great praise for early stablecoin regulation, but at the same time it also faces some challenges, as you said, finally having the yen stablecoin, but that took quite a while.My understanding is that there are some challenges in issuing stablecoins in enterprises.I just want to hear what you think,Do you think there are difficulties in driving more companies to issue stablecoins, or how do you view the current issuance of stablecoins in Japan?
Katayama Katsuki: As you mentioned, some difficulties have occurred so we need to consider warrants and this has been enhanced.Take the US monetary policy last year as an example.They intend to expand the scope of buybacks to include short-term U.S. Treasury bonds.Up to 55 days, these are the main rules of the United States (I think it is the United States).
When we made regulations in 2017, PayPal’s payment limit was $110,000, which was the small amount they should have.But now the situation may be different, in Europe, it is said to have 10,000 euros.But in order to expand the scope of use of stablecoins so that every company can benefit from it, in the international B2B field, $10,000 is reasonable.The key is how to ensure people’s confidence in stablecoins.In this field, there must be a solution.We have to look at all project activities and deal with these issues, and KYC all of these things must be fully prepared to get through the most unfavorable period.
host: Of course, this is indeed a big challenge.I’m just curious,Are there other aspects that make you feel that the regulatory system of the Japanese and Japanese is a bit too strict?
Katayama Katsuki: You think so, that’s what it feels like, I have to admit, because so far we don’t have the kind of industry voice that can really take advantage of B2B as a defender.But we don’t have to worry about it.It will certainly be a defender.And now, even with SWIFT, it takes time and money.This is very inconvenient.So maybe here, in these sounds, we have to change this situation, not just stay on the ceiling, but also do it like the United States does.
Heath Tarbert:Yes.Thank you for your honest comment.Obviously, we attach great importance to Japan’s system and seem to be fully abiding by it.But as you pointed out, the transaction limit is 1 billion yen, which means that in reality, a single transaction can only send $70,000 to $10,000.
host: But it needs to be clarified that you can send money all the time, right?It seems not possible.
Heath Tarbert: Yes, but if you are a business and someone buys it, for example, you are a Japanese automaker, you want to receive payment in stablecoins, or buy parts or something.You want to trade seamlessly when the trading limit reaches this level.As you said, in many ways, this has hindered the development of the B2B enterprise user base to some extent.Then you fall into a situation where you are like playing tricks and say, OK, I still owe you 87 million yen.I plan to do 87 or 88 similar transactions.And I think this might put Japan in a slightly weak position when competing with places like the EU, which has rather strict regulation and is not as interesting (policy).
host: When do you think it will be revised?What do you think?Is there a high possibility of revision?
Katayama Katsuki: We can still do something without modifying the law itself.This means there is no need to pass Congress, but there must be some means.
host: There will be results soon, but it is very interesting.Let’s try to explain it in snippets, because this is a big question about stablecoins.Heath, start with you,What are the typical use cases for stablecoins you think are not limited to Circle.In general, what typical stablecoin application scenarios do you think are there?
Heath Tarbert: Obviously, the first purpose that everyone here may come to mind is to buy and sell digital assets.You can use stablecoins to buy and sell digital assets faster and more flexibly on the exchange.
But it is important for policy makers to recognize that stablecoins can provide a store of value for those who want to hold the dollar, especially in countries where central banks are unreliable, but we are talking about countries outside the G20 here.Many people want to deposit a portion of their savings in a dollar stablecoin, because the US dollar stablecoin is trustworthy and transparent, thus becoming such a value.Cross-border remittances, the current cost of remitting overseas is about 6% to 7%, depending on the region.And remitting money with stablecoins can be done safely, reliably and seamlessly, just like sending an email.In addition, there are many commercial application scenarios.For example, if a Japanese company wants to sell products to Africa, first of all, they may not receive the payment, i.e. they shipped the goods but the money may not be received, or they have to wait 5 days to complete the transaction, while using stablecoins can be completed almost instantly and avoid all foreign exchange fees.
Basically, any currency exchange, especially involving cross-border transactions, seems to me that if you use stablecoins, it can be enhanced to make it more efficient, cheaper, and faster.
host:Thank you!Ms. Katayama,What are the application scenarios of stablecoins in Japan?In your opinion, what aspects can stablecoins be used in?
Katayama Katsuki: This is a good point.Maybe I’ll talk to them.After I returned to China, I set up a study group myself.But the first time was among the people who agreed to the exchange, then the normal ones joined, followed by the Japanese Bankers Association.We have a financial sample, etc., whichever is your basis.So I think in this historic event, we have to include everyone.
Heath Tarbert: We have discussed the current application scenarios, but how many people here are developers or working with developers?
Yes, someone finally raised his hand, don’t be shy.What really excites me is the cases that are emerging in your Internet platform companies.So we encourage developers like you.You will come up with clever ways to embed stablecoins into your products and companies, based on some infrastructure built by companies like Circle.This excites me in many ways.We think of the intersection of artificial intelligence, right?There may be a scenario in the future where we have dynamic payment methods and AI agents interact with each other.If they were to trade, what would be the ideal payment method between them?It’s likely a stablecoin.
So that’s to say we don’t even know all the stablecoins applications yet, and that’s exactly what I think, because many of you will invent them.
host: However, if I just want to ask you in detail, becauseUSDC has indeed set a precedent in Japan, so what specific stablecoin usage scenarios do you think are there in Japan??Because some people are skeptical and say they don’t know what practical application scenarios are available for stablecoins.So I’d love to know what you think.
Heath Tarbert:Japan.So I think any particular cross-border payment circle has a new application called the Circle Payment Network, which is a way to connect financial institutions around the world with other payment processing companies.So people can transfer money, for example, if you pay in yen, the money goes to the other side and becomes a Brazilian real.
We can do this through USDC.By matching banks and financial institutions around the world between stablecoin layers, we can conduct forex trading at lower cost and higher efficiency.This is just a practical application case in the real world.
host:I want to talk about the central bank digital currency (CBDC).Do we really need them?I mean in terms of stablecoins.
Katayama Katsuki: This is the point.When I visited Washington, I was very, very surprised, I thought there would be 20 or 25 people, but I found that there were a lot of people.Many of them asked me such a critical question.Most people told me that the U.S. House of Representatives banned any form of central bank digital currency, and I think it’s a good idea because it’s not decided yet.
Maybe we won’t reduce the amount of central bank digital currency, but its role may be completely different.Maybe I really don’t know.But we won’t announce this in our business.The young investors I mentioned are the main groups in Japan who open crypto asset accounts, many of which come from the healthcare industry.They get information from their diet or fashion icons and then deposit money into their accounts, and although the amount is small, they do have this enthusiasm.
So I think from the beginning, after we lower our tax rate to 20%, they get the service and then turn to make the most of the stablecoin.Instead of returning the money to the bank.I think this exchange or settlement method between investments will become a thing of the past for ordinary users or a wide range of users, even if the amount may be small.
Heath Tarbert: Every country must decide whether to use central bank digital currency, as you said, there are many options.Many Western countries, including the United States, choose to avoid central bank digital currencies no matter where they are located in the world, because of concerns about privacy, civil rights, surveillance and more.
Our stablecoin USDC is designed to operate in concert with other stablecoins or central bank digital currencies, but in the United States, they have made clear decisions.The Genius Act actually effectively bans the Fed from using central bank digital currencies in the near-term and even longer-term future.In the future, the US dollar on blockchain is more likely to exist in the form of stablecoins.
host: I think this is a perfect way to end.The time is almost over, but thank you very much.I learned a lot from this conversation.
Katayama Katsuki: In this world, we all pursue a goal, which is great.
Heath Tarbert: That’s it.Thank you so much.
