Blockchain infrastructure outfit Blockstream is joining forces with Japanese tech player Digital Garage and FS firm Tokyo Tanshi on a new venture building bitcoin and blockchain tools for the Japanese institutional market, beginning with a yen-pegged stablecoin.
The JV, called Crypto Garage, has received official authorisation to carry out the first blockchain and finance project under Japan's regulatory sandbox.
The venture will provide crypto exchanges with SettleNet, a suite of products based on Blockstream's inter-exchange settlement network Liquid, designed to boost efficiency and security for bitcoin traders.
The first application to launch on SettleNet will be a Japanese yen stablecoin which can be traded for bitcoin pegged to the Liquid sidechain using atomic swaps. This, the partners say, will give exchanges and trading desks in Japan a rapid, secure and private platform for completing transactions while slashing counterparty risks.
The project will run as a proof-of-concept for one year in the regulatory sandbox to test and validate the secure transfer of crypto assets on a sidechain network and the possibility of building a stable OTC market by improving transparency for the price-making process.
As part of the deal, Digital Garage, which is already an investor in Blockstream, has pumped another $10 million into the startup.