This deployment includes both JPYC lending markets and a curator-managed JPYC vault, launched in collaboration with Steakhouse Financial and PAO TECH Labs.

Steakhouse Financial 🤝 PAO TECH Labs

PAO TECH Labs

Jan 6, 2026

We’re excited to announce a strategic partnership between Steakhouse Financial and PAO TECH Labs to introduce the first JPYC lending markets and a curator-led vault on Morpho. Starting with JPYC / USD...

0 supporters

Support

The goal is to enable JPYC lenders to earn yield while relying on explicit, conservative risk controls from day one.

The JPYC Vault link is following.

Morpho | Steakhouse PaoTech JPYC vault

Morpho x Steakhouse PaoTech JPYC vault. Steakhouse PaoTech JPYC lends against blue chip collaterals.

https://app.morpho.org

What Was Launched

The launch consists of two components:

• JPYC Lending Markets on Morpho

• Steakhouse PaoTech JPYC Vault

All markets share the same core structure:

• Loan asset: JPYC

• Collateral assets: USDC, WETH, WBTC

Borrowers obtain JPYC by posting one of the approved collateral assets, while lenders earn yield by supplying JPYC to the protocol.

The market links are following

• USDC/JPYC Market

• WBTC/JPYC Market

• WETH/JPYC Market

JPYC Lending Market Structure

Each JPYC market on Morpho is an isolated market where:

• JPYC is the only loan asset

• A single asset (USDC, WETH, or WBTC) is accepted as collateral

Risk parameters are defined at market creation and do not cross between markets

This means:

• JPYC supplied by lenders accrues interest

• Collateral assets do not earn interest

• Risk is contained per market and per collateral type

By separating markets by collateral asset, Morpho allows risk to be evaluated and managed independently for each borrower profile and market condition.

Why USDC, WETH, and WBTC Were Chosen

The initial collateral set is intentionally limited.

USDC, WETH, and WBTC were selected because they offer:

• Deep on-chain liquidity

• Mature pricing infrastructure

• Predictable liquidation behavior under stress

Rather than maximizing the number of supported assets at launch, the focus is on liquidation reliability and capital preservation while JPYC on-chain liquidity continues to develop.

The Role of the JPYC Vault

The Steakhouse–PAO TECH JPYC Vault is designed for JPYC lenders.

Instead of supplying JPYC directly into individual markets, users can deposit JPYC into the vault. The vault then:

• Aggregates JPYC deposits

• Allocates JPYC across multiple Morpho markets where JPYC is lent out against USDC, WETH, or WBTC collateral

• Manages exposure under Steakhouse’s curated risk framework

This allows JPYC lenders to gain diversified exposure to different borrower types while relying on professional risk management, rather than actively monitoring each market themselves.

Vault Governance and Risk Management

The vault operates under Morpho’s curator model:

• Curators determine which markets are enabled and how much JPYC can be allocated to each

• Allocators manage operational allocation within those limits

• Configuration changes are subject to on-chain timelocks, ensuring transparency and predictability

As a result, vault behavior is constrained by explicit parameters rather than discretionary actions.

Core Risk Parameters at Launch

At launch, the JPYC markets share conservative, safety-first settings:

• Liquidation LTV (LLTV): 86%

• Liquidation penalty: ~4.38% (as displayed in the Morpho UI)

• Oracle: Chainlink [USDC or WETH or WBTC]/USD + Chainlink JPY/USD

• Interest rate model: AdaptiveCurveIRM (dynamic rates)

These parameters are designed to prioritize solvency and liquidation executability rather than maximum capital efficiency. These parameters are immutable at the market level and cannot be modified after deployment.

What Comes Next

The JPYC lending markets and vault are designed to evolve over time.

additional markets, different collateral types, and updated vault allocation policies may be introduced — always within Morpho’s isolated-market framework.

In parallel, additional JPYC-centric primitives are under active development.

JPYC as Collateral

Markets where JPYC itself is used as collateral are planned as a next step.

PAO TECH Labs is currently working with Steakhouse Financial to conduct due diligence on JPYC collateralization, including:

• liquidation feasibility

• oracle design considerations

• parameterization appropriate for JPYC’s liquidity profile

These markets will only be deployed once the required risk reviews and operational checks are completed.

JPYC Strategy Vaults

Beyond passive JPYC lending, strategy vaults are also planned.

These vaults are designed to:

• use JPYC as collateral

• borrow assets such as USDC

• deploy borrowed liquidity into selected DeFi strategies

The objective is to enable JPYC holders to access structured, on-chain yield strategies while keeping risk management explicit and transparent.

As with the lending markets, these vaults will be introduced incrementally, with conservative parameters and clear separation between lending risk and strategy risk.

About PAO TECH Labs

PAO TECH Labs is a curator and DeFi infrastructure team supporting JPYC’s integration into global on-chain financial markets.

The team focuses on designing risk-aware lending and yield primitives where JPYC can serve as a functional JPY-denominated asset.

Disclaimer

This article is provided for informational and technical purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice, an offer, or a solicitation to invest in any product or strategy. Nothing in this article should be interpreted as a recommendation to use any protocol, vault, or financial instrument. Users are solely responsible for assessing the risks of interacting with decentralized protocols, including smart contract risk, market risk, and regulatory considerations in their respective jurisdictions.

This content is not directed at, and is not intended for, residents of Japan. No offering, solicitation, or marketing activity is conducted toward users located in Japan, and this article should not be relied upon by any person in Japan for any purpose.

Market-level parameters on Morpho are immutable once deployed. However, the allocation of JPYC within the vault — including which markets are enabled and how capital is distributed — may change over time according to the curator-defined risk framework and on-chain governance processes.

Starting with JPYC / USDC, WBTC, and WETH market, the partnership is designed to support future expansion into additional JPYC-based markets, including pairings with other prime crypto assets over time.

Together, the teams will expand access to high-quality, risk-managed markets while establishing JPYC as a dependable asset within Morpho’s rapidly growing lending infrastructure.

A Co-Launch with Clear and Collaborative Roles

The JPYC markets on Morpho are launched as a joint initiative, with each team contributing complementary expertise under clearly defined responsibilities.

• Steakhouse Financial leads the risk framework and ongoing market oversight, including parameter configuration, oracle considerations, and continuous monitoring as liquidity and usage evolve.

• PAO TECH Labs leads ecosystem expansion and market adoption, focusing on Japan-facing outreach, partner coordination, and expanding JPYC integrations across the broader DeFi ecosystem.

At the same time, market risk design is informed through active collaboration between both teams. PAO TECH Labs contributes JPYC-specific domain knowledge — including liquidity characteristics, redemption dynamics, and regional usage patterns — which is incorporated into Steakhouse Financial’s risk framework and parameter decisions.

Why This Partnership Matters

The introduction of JPYC lending markets on Morpho marks a meaningful step toward making DeFi more currency-diverse and globally representative.

Today, most decentralized credit markets are USD-centric. JPYC brings a new dimension by enabling:

• Yen-denominated liquidity

• Cross-currency lending flows

• New market structure opportunities for vaults, FX strategies, and stablecoin diversification

The partnership also reflects a shared commitment to safety-first market design. Early markets will launch with conservative parameters, gradually scaling as JPYC liquidity deepens and oracle infrastructure matures. Both teams will monitor market performance and refine configurations as needed.

Deliverables of the Partnership

1. JPYC Lending Markets on Morpho

Two fully isolated markets will be deployed:

• JPYC → USDC borrowing

• USDC → JPYC borrowing

• WBTC → JPYC borrowing

• WETH → JPYC borrowing

Each direction is independently risk-managed, aligned with Morpho’s minimal and modular market architecture.
Steakhouse Financial leads the design of risk parameters, while PAO TECH Labs contributes JPYC-specific assumptions and ecosystem context, ensuring safe behavior during the initial launch phase.

2. A Curated JPYC Lending Vault

Steakhouse Financial and PAO TECH Labs will co-design a curated vault that aggregates liquidity into the JPYC markets on Morpho.

The vault is designed to:

• simplify participation for lenders,

• support consistent liquidity across JPYC markets, and

• provide a structured, passive entry point for users seeking exposure without active position management.

This vault reflects the co-launch approach: combining Steakhouse’s market and risk expertise with PAO TECH Labs’ ecosystem and adoption strategy.

3. Ongoing Risk Curation & Market Stewardship

As JPYC liquidity and usage grow, both teams will continue to collaborate on market stewardship, including:

• updating market caps and LTV settings,

• refining oracle configurations,

• exploring additional markets.

While Steakhouse Financial leads ongoing risk management, PAO TECH Labs remains closely involved to ensure that risk assumptions remain aligned with JPYC’s real-world liquidity, redemption dynamics, and ecosystem adoption.

The partnership is designed to be iterative and long-term, scaling JPYC’s role as a yen-based asset across Morpho and the broader DeFi ecosystem over time.

Future Expansion: Prime Asset / JPYC Markets

Building on the initial JPYC / USDC, WBTC, and WETH markets, the partnership is exploring the possibility of additional JPYC-based markets paired with other prime crypto assets, such as wstETH / JPYC, as a potential next phase.

This potential expansion would allow JPYC to be used against more crypto-native collateral types, further extending its role within on-chain lending and liquidity markets.

Partner Comment

JPYC's introduction on Morpho is an important step in building robust onchain FX markets and expand repo access to one of the world's most important reserve currencies. We're pleased to collaborate with PAO TECH Labs to help bring our market-leading framework for DeFi lending to yen-based repo markets onchain

— Steakhouse Financial

About Steakhouse Financial

Steakhouse Financial is a leading curator in decentralized finance, working with institutions, asset issuers, and protocols to design and steward on-chain market structures. Their work spans asset onboarding, parameter design, risk and incentive alignment, and liquidity strategy, helping emerging financial primitives grow safely and sustainably across multiple ecosystems. Steakhouse brings a multidisciplinary approach that supports the development of robust, transparent, and scalable on-chain markets.

Steakhouse

We are pioneering open and transparent finance, aspiring to build with institutional-grade DeFi tools to raise, manage and distribute the capital they need to make a difference.

https://www.steakhouse.financial

About PAO TECH Labs

PAO TECH Labs is a curator and development team focused on integrating JPYC into the global DeFi ecosystem. We specialize in identifying, designing, and supporting high-quality markets where JPYC can deliver meaningful utility and sustainable liquidity—beginning with lending, stablecoin, and yield markets such as Morpho.

To date, we have designed and developed multiple DeFi protocols and on-chain products, including InsureDAO, Orange Finance, Berancia, and Saisen, reflecting our commitment to expanding practical and accessible DeFi use cases.

https://x.com/PAOTECHLabs

A Curator is a professional role responsible for integrating assets into DeFi — selecting platforms, designing risk and parameter configurations, and constructing cross-protocol liquidity strategies to enable safe and efficient usage of assets in DeFi.

Through collaboration with leading DeFi protocols — Euler Finance, Morpho, IPOR Fusion, and Napier Finance — all with proven track records and audits, PAO TECH Labs aims to build the following ecosystem:

• Launch of JPYC lending and borrowing markets

• Development of JPYC yield-generating vaults

• Creation of JPY-denominated fixed-rate markets (interest rate swaps, etc.)

• Liquidity support for each product

Through this initiative, we aim to safely and efficiently onboard JPYC into the global on-chain economy, expanding its real-world use cases and scaling its issuance.

JPYC DeFi Ecosystem Overview

1. Building JPYC Lending Markets (Euler Finance / Morpho integration)

PAO TECH Labs plans to launch JPYC lending markets on Morpho (approx. $5B TVL) and Euler Finance (approx. $1B TVL), the world’s leading Curator-based lending platforms. These markets will enable users to borrow crypto assets using JPYC as collateral, or borrow JPYC against crypto assets.

PAO TECH Labs has already passed the official KYB process as a curator with Euler Finance and is currently designing market parameters toward deployment on both protocols.

This will establish new financial infrastructure for JPY-denominated on-chain liquidity, enabling JPYC holders to put assets to work within DeFi. Growing demand for lending is also expected to drive expanded JPYC issuance.

2. Yield-Generating Vaults (IPOR Fusion Integration)

The next phase will introduce vaults that borrow USDC using JPYC as collateral, enabling diversified yield strategies on IPOR Fusion.

IPOR Fusion is a unified infrastructure for automated execution, yield optimization, and risk management, enabling multiple strategies to operate efficiently and securely.

These vaults will:

• Deliver returns in JPYC, generated from positions collateralized by JPYC

• Enable JPY-denominated yield strategies within DeFi

This will create a Japanese yen-based on-chain investment environment—from low-risk / low-volatility treasury-style strategies to aggressive point-farming strategies.

3. Fixed-Rate JPYC Market (Napier Finance Integration)

As the final phase toward a complete JPYC DeFi ecosystem, PAO TECH Labs will work with Napier Finance to add a fixed-rate layer to IPOR Vaults, enabling JPY-denominated fixed-rate products.

Napier Finance is an on-chain interest rate protocol enabling interest-rate curves and fixed-floating swaps.

This phase will deliver:

• Fixed-rate JPYC yield products with predetermined returns at entry

• Stable JPY income without FX risk

• A foundation for enterprises and individuals to operate safely in yen-based DeFi

This milestone completes the Japanese yen DeFi market.

4. Corporate Accessibility via Wallet Integration

To expand enterprise adoption, PAO TECH Labs is exploring wallet and custody integrations, such as:

• Integration with “Nsuite”, a distributed corporate wallet solution by double jump.tokyo

This will allow companies to safely access lending (Euler / Morpho) and IPOR Fusion yield products using JPYC, accelerating real-world adoption across Web2/enterprise financial infrastructure.

Future Outlook

PAO TECH Labs aims to establish JPYC as a currency that can borrow, lend, invest, and generate returns — entirely in JPY — within global DeFi via deep integration with Euler, Morpho, IPOR, and Napier.

A video covering real-world use cases and DAO integrations from the recent JPYC DeFi Showcase is also available.

Statement from the CEO

We are committed to making JPYC a currency that is actively used in global DeFi.Borrowing, investing, and earning yield in yen — implemented on-chain — has major significance for Japan’s financial future. Through collaborations with Euler, Morpho, IPOR, and Napier, the full infrastructure for lending, yield, and fixed-rate markets is now in place.Our next step is building practical infrastructure that enables Japanese enterprises and DAOs to connect to global markets in yen. PAO TECH Labs will elevate Japan-origin on-chain finance to global standards through JPYC.

— Motoki Takahashi, Co-Founder & CEO, PAO TECH PTE. LTD.

Partner Comments

As the universal lending network, Morpho is committed to making every stablecoin productive, wherever it originates. We’re glad to support PAO TECH Labs in bringing JPYC onchain and unlocking yen liquidity through vaults on Morpho for the first time. This is a natural step for DeFi as non-USD stablecoins grow and the ecosystem moves toward a multi-currency market, with institutions building global stablecoin rails.

— Paul Frambot, CEO and Co-Founder of Morpho

We are excited to build automated yield strategies for JPYC on IPOR Fusion infrastructure. IPOR protocol has rates at its core so I’m personally looking forward to how rates trading if DeFi will look having onchain Yen and Dollar the most important xccy pair in the world.

— Darren Camas, IPOR Labs CEO

Polygon is proud to support PAO TECH Labs in bringing the Japanese yen stablecoin JPYC into the global DeFi ecosystem. This initiative advances multi-currency DeFi, enabling JPYC to power lending, yield, and investment opportunities with the efficiency of dollar-based assets. Together, we’re connecting Japan’s digital economy with global liquidity on Polygon’s scalable infrastructure.

— Marc Boiron, CEO Polygon Labs

We look forward to seeing a Japan-led team with deep DeFi experience act as a curator, turning complex, fragmented DeFi modules into simple, compelling products for end users. We’re also excited for Napier protocol to serve as the underlying infrastructure, including for vertically curated products combined in collaboration with other curator platforms.

— Yusuke Osoegawa, Napier Labs CEO

Web3における法人ウォレットは、資産の「保管」だけでなく、「運用・会計・コンプライアンス」までを包括する管理基盤へと進化しています。PAO TECH Labs による JPYC を軸とした今回の取り組みは、JPYC のユースケース拡大に寄与するとともに、暗号資産トレジャリー企業の運用可能性を大きく広げるものです。今後の発展を強く期待しています。

In Web3, corporate wallets are evolving from simple asset storage solutions into comprehensive platforms that also cover asset management, accounting, and compliance.This JPYC-focused initiative by PAO TECH Labs not only expands real-world use cases for JPYC, but also significantly broadens the operational capabilities available to crypto treasury organizations.We look forward to seeing its continued growth and development.

— Yukinori Matsuya, double jump.tokyo CEO

最初のプロジェクトの立ち上げ期から支援してきたPAO TECH Labsチームが、JPYCを起点にしたDeFi事業の展開をすることを大変嬉しく思います。これまでのプロジェクトで経験した多くの経験を生かして、 $JPYC をグローバルなDeFi Protocolでも利用され続けるステーブルコインの立場へと引き上げてくれることに期待しています。DeFiから逃げずにBuildし続けてきたPAO TECH Labsにご期待ください。

We are delighted to see the PAO TECH Labs team, whom we have supported since the earliest days of their first project, now expanding their DeFi initiatives centered around JPYC.Leveraging the extensive experience accumulated across past projects, we expect them to elevate $JPYC into a stablecoin that is used widely across global DeFi protocols.PAO TECH Labs has continued to build relentlessly without stepping away from DeFi — and we look forward to what they will achieve next.

— Kazuya Murakami, Fracton Ventures Incubation Lead

About PAO TECH PTE. LTD.

PAO TECH Labs believes Ethereum-based blockchains will form the next generation of financial infrastructure, with a mission to connect both individuals and institutions to DeFi.

The company provides treasury advisory services, develops InsureDAO, Orange Finance, and Berancia, and produces blockchain games enabling casual DeFi experiences.