Minna Bank and Backpack sign MoU to link yen banking with crypto in Japan

Key points

• Minna Bank will embed its yen deposit and withdrawal functions into Backpack's platform through its Banking-as-a-Service business.
• Trek Labs is preparing to register as a crypto service provider in Japan under the Backpack JP brand.
• Minna Bank, which has 1.7 million mainly millennial and centennial users, may add Backpack's tokenised deposits and trading to its app.

Minna Bank and Backpack have signed a memorandum of understanding to connect Japanese banking with crypto services, Bitcoin.com News reports. The value co-creation agreement was struck on 12 November between the bank and Trek Labs, Backpack's Japanese subsidiary, as Trek Labs prepares to register as a crypto service provider under the Backpack JP brand.

Under the deal, Minna Bank will supply the transactional infrastructure that lets Backpack users deposit and withdraw Japanese yen, giving the platform a link to the traditional financial system. The service will run through Minna Bank's Banking-as-a-Service business, which provides white-label functions for Backpack to embed in its own app.

Bank side of the deal

In the other direction, Minna Bank plans to bring what the two firms call next-generation on-chain finance into its banking stack, including tokenised deposits and Backpack's operational services inside its app. That could open Backpack-enabled trading to the bank's 1.7 million customers, who are mainly millennials and centennials.

Backpack, founded by former FTX employees, offers self-custody trading in crypto, tokenised stocks and perpetuals. It reached a $1bn valuation in a funding round in February and has processed more than $60bn in trading volume since launching in 2022. Minna Bank, Japan's first fully digital bank, has previously worked with Fireblocks and Solana on stablecoin use cases.

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