The Hokkoku Bank
Hokkoku Bank said its Tochitsuka app would carry Tochika, a deposit-type stablecoin it issues at 1 Tochika to 1 yen, alongside municipal points, with Tochika planned for fiscal 2023.
- Status
- Live
- Announced
- (announcement)
- Original title
- デジタル地域通貨サービス「トチツーカ」の開始について
- Stage
- Production (was Pilot)
- Chain or network
- unknown (Digital Platformer platform)
- Participants
- Suzu City, Kono Shinkin Bank, Digital Platformer
- Next review
Scorecard
As of the review on . Changes since the previous review are marked. How pilots are scored
| Ledger | Unknown |
|---|---|
| Settlement | Tokenised deposits |
| Access | Open |
| Legal standing | Unclear |
| Scale | Repeat (was Single transaction) |
What they said they would do
- MissedOffer Tochika, a stablecoin issued by Hokkoku Bank, in the Tochitsuka app during fiscal 2023. (by )
Decisions
Expanded
Customers of Kono Shinkin Bank and Kanazawa Shinkin Bank could top up Tochika from their deposit accounts.
Source: hokkokubank.co.jp
Expanded
Noto Kyoei Shinkin Bank and Hakusan Shinkin Bank were added, so Tochika could be topped up from every shinkin bank headquartered in Ishikawa Prefecture.
Source: hokkokubank.co.jp
Review history
Live Pilot
Hokkoku Bank says it launched Tochika in spring 2024, after the fiscal 2023 target that ended in March. Residents top it up from their accounts and spend it at local merchants.
Evidence: hokkokubank.co.jp
Live Production
Tochika can now be topped up from every Ishikawa shinkin bank, and Tochitsuka passed 100,246 registered users on 26 March 2026. It is offered with no end date and its use has spread across the prefecture, so stage is production; no Tochika volumes are published, so scale is repeat. The ledger is still not named.
Evidence: hokkokubank.co.jp, hokkokubank.co.jp
What was announced
On 29 September 2023 The Hokkoku Bank said that with Suzu City, Kono Shinkin Bank and Digital Platformer it would launch Tochitsuka, a blockchain-based digital local currency app, from 2 October 2023. The app would carry two currencies: points issued by municipalities (“Tochipo”), starting with Suzu City’s, and Tochika, a stablecoin issued by Hokkoku Bank, planned for fiscal 2023, at 1 Tochika to 1 yen.
How it works
Users top up Tochika from a deposit account registered in the app and spend it at merchants; Hokkoku Bank calls it a deposit-type stablecoin, meaning the balance stays a bank deposit, so settlement is tokenised-deposit. Users verify their identity with a My Number Card. Any resident with an account at a participating bank can use it, so access is open. Digital Platformer built the platform, but Hokkoku Bank’s releases name no ledger technology, so ledger is unknown. Whether the token is itself the deposit record is not stated, so legal is unclear.
Record so far
Tochika was not live by the end of fiscal 2023. On 23 May 2024 Hokkoku Bank said it had launched Tochika, which it called Japan’s first deposit-type stablecoin, in spring 2024, and announced joint study with JPYC on linking Tochika to JPYC. The bank’s March 2026 release dates Tochitsuka’s service start to April 2024, which differs from the 2023 release; this entry uses the bank’s spring 2024 date for Tochika. Kono Shinkin and Kanazawa Shinkin Bank customers could top up from April 2025, and Noto Kyoei and Hakusan Shinkin from December 2025, covering every shinkin bank headquartered in Ishikawa. Tochitsuka had 100,246 registered users on 26 March 2026; the figure counts app users, not Tochika holders.
What to watch
A named ledger, which would settle ledger. Use outside Ishikawa Prefecture. Results of the study with JPYC.