CERES INC.

Ceres, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market, disclosed on August 13 that its subsidiary Mercury is aiming to register as an electronic payment instruments transaction service provider in order to handle stablecoins. In its second-quarter earnings presentation for the fiscal year ending December 2026, released the same day, the company explained that it is preparing to become the industry's second registered firm, with an eye toward the spread of stablecoins in Japan. Registration as an electronic payment instruments transaction service provider is required for activities such as buying and selling, exchanging, managing, and brokering stablecoins whose value is linked to legal tender, and the Financial Services Agency's registration list currently includes only one firm, SBI VC Trade. Mercury operates the crypto asset exchange CoinTrade, which handles 24 crypto assets, and also offers services such as staking, lending, and recurring investment. As part of its policy of making CoinTrade a total crypto asset management platform, Ceres has positioned stablecoins as a new area of focus.