Backpack Signs Yen Banking Agreement With Minna Bank in Japan
Backpack's Japanese subsidiary Trek Labs Japan has signed a cooperation agreement with Minna Bank to explore yen deposits and withdrawals via BaaS, tokenized deposits and app integration. Everything depends on Trek Labs Japan securing crypto exchange registration.
Yen deposits and withdrawals for Backpack's planned Japanese trading platform could run through a domestic bank, provided the exchange first clears registration with Japanese regulators. That is the substance of a cooperation agreement with Minna Bank, a digital bank under Fukuoka Financial Group, announced on November 12.
According to the announcement, Minna Bank entered into the agreement with Trek Labs Japan, the Japanese subsidiary of the group operating Backpack. The document is titled a Basic Agreement on Value Co-creation Utilizing Finance. Backpack described it in a post on X as an MOU, a memorandum of understanding.
The first area of work is yen deposits and withdrawals, delivered through Minna Bank's Banking as a Service (BaaS) infrastructure. That step is conditional on Trek Labs Japan securing registration as a cryptocurrency exchange operator. The company, established in April 2023 and headquartered in Shinjuku, Tokyo, is preparing to apply.
Beyond that, the two sides are considering tokenized deposits, which Minna Bank has been exploring issuing, and the integration of Backpack's investment services into Minna Bank's mobile app.
An exploratory framework
The agreement sets up discussions, not an operational partnership. No specific products, launch dates or implementation details have been announced, and neither company has said when any integration could go live or which service would come first.
The banking track also hinges entirely on registration.
Context
This is not Minna Bank's first agreement with a crypto firm. In June it signed an agreement with Singapore-based Slash Vision covering stablecoin payment services on its banking infrastructure, including yen deposits and withdrawals and possible conversion between tokenized deposits and stablecoins such as USDC. Backpack, for its part, acquired FTX EU, the former European business of FTX, in January 2025.
The path to registration has been narrow. In August, Nomura-backed Laser Digital became Japan's first newly registered crypto exchange service provider in about four years. Japan's Financial Services Agency has since placed on-chain finance in its 2026 policy program.
Banks elsewhere are also moving closer to crypto infrastructure: Deutsche Bank has launched a paid crypto custody service for European institutions. For Backpack in Japan, however, the Minna Bank agreement carries practical weight only once Trek Labs Japan is registered.
