Nomura Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Circle for Strategic Collaboration in Digital Finance

Nomura Holdings, Inc.

Tokyo, June 26, 2026—Nomura Holdings, Inc. (Nomura) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Circle Internet Financial, LLC (Circle), an affiliate of Circle Internet Group, Inc. (NYSE: CRCL), to pursue a strategic collaboration in digital finance across global markets, including Japan.

Through this collaboration, Nomura will explore the potential of next-generation market infrastructure using on-chain finance*, where financial transactions are conducted directly on blockchain networks. Specifically, the company will consider opportunities in areas such as instant settlement using stablecoins backed by fiat currencies and other assets, as well as ways to enhance collateral management, fund transfers, and capital markets transactions.

Under this agreement, the two companies will work together to create new digital finance use cases and next-generation market infrastructure in global markets, including Japan, by leveraging Circle’s expertise in stablecoins and blockchain infrastructure and Nomura’s expertise in financial markets.

In recent years, the financial industry has seen growing demand for greater efficiency, immediacy, and transparency in areas such as cross-border payments, foreign exchange transactions, treasury operations, tokenized financial products, collateral management, and capital markets transactions. Against this backdrop, there has been increasing interest in new financial infrastructure that leverages stablecoins and blockchain technology.

As a global financial services group, Nomura has been pursuing initiatives focused on the potential of digital assets and next-generation market infrastructure. The company aims to move digital finance beyond proof-of-concept initiatives and develop it into practical financial infrastructure for real-world business operations.

In this context, the two companies have agreed to collaborate on the development of next-generation digital finance in global markets, including Japan.

Under the MOU, Nomura and Circle will primarily explore collaboration in the following areas: 
 

• using stablecoins for on-chain finance and capital markets transactions
• enhancing on-chain collateral management, fund transfers, and settlement infrastructure
• developing trust functions, including asset preservation and collateral management, needed to enable the circulation of stablecoins and on-chain finance

The two companies will now move forward with more detailed discussions, taking into account regulatory, legal, technical, and business perspectives.

Circle is one of the world’s leading internet financial platform companies, building the foundation of a more open, global economy through programmable blockchain infrastructure, digital assets, and payment applications. Circle’s platform includes the world’s largest stablecoin network anchored by USDC, Circle Payments Network for global money movement, and Arc, an enterprise-grade blockchain designed to become the “Economic OS” for the internet. Enterprises, financial institutions, and developers use Circle to power trusted, internet-scale financial innovation.