JPYC minting halts as the 1-yen token hits 3 yen
Japan's yen stablecoin JPYC paused new issuance after a minting glitch. Listed on Upbit the same day, it traded near 3 yen.
What happened
On September 17, JPYC Inc., the issuer of JPYC, said it had found a glitch in its minting process and suspended issuance reservations on Ethereum, then on Polygon shortly after. The company apologised but gave no technical explanation. Its notices did not mention any effect on transfers or existing balances.
Bad timing
The same day, South Korean exchange Upbit listed JPYC, with trading opening at 18:00 Korea time. Upbit accepted deposits and withdrawals only on Ethereum. As Korean demand surged and new supply froze, the token, meant to trade at 1 yen, reached about 3 yen on the secondary market.
Afterwards
Issuance reservations reopened on Ethereum while Polygon stayed down for longer. JPYC is registered with Japan's Financial Services Agency for funds transfer business, mints and redeems 1:1, and caps each issuance request at 1 million yen. The episode showed that a peg needs working mint and redemption channels as well as reserves.