After the bankruptcy of Japanese credit card payment processor Zentoushin, concerns are growing over gaps in payment infrastructure for some sectors. Businessman Takafumi Horie (호리에 다카후미) has drawn attention by citing bitcoin (BTC) and yen-pegged stablecoin JPYC as alternative payment methods.

On July 8, blockchain media outlet CoinPost reported that Horie, in a YouTube video, referred to the Zentoushin bankruptcy and said, "Shouldn't we now move to bitcoin or JPYC?" He raised the need for new payment methods that do not rely on existing card payment networks.

Horie made the remarks against the backdrop of Zentoushin's bankruptcy. Zentoushin is known as a firm that provided credit card payment services to nightlife and adult entertainment businesses that mainstream financial institutions are reluctant to screen. The company went bankrupt with liabilities of about 125.9 billion yen (about 1.17 trillion won). That has raised the possibility that existing merchants could fail screening as they try to move to other payment processors.

While citing bitcoin and JPYC as alternatives, Horie added, "I don't know if JPYC also does screening." Rather than asserting the feasibility of adoption, he appeared to mention them as one of the options that could fill gaps left by existing financial infrastructure.

The remarks have also renewed attention on JPYC, a yen-based stablecoin. JPYC has recently been running pilot projects to expand everyday payments. Payment solutions firm INSPAY, together with JPYC, HashPort and Cheerio Corporation, began a pilot on July 1 for JPYC payments at Cheerio vending machines in Kyoto. The project is aimed at verifying whether stablecoins can be used for small-value payments.

Some in the industry say the Zentoushin case has again exposed limitations in existing financial screening systems. As some sectors still have difficulty using mainstream financial institutions, discussion is continuing over whether digital asset-based payments can play a complementary role. Others say JPYC still faces hurdles such as merchant screening, regulation and adoption costs, making it difficult to replace existing payment networks in the short term.

Horie is also set to hold a special dialogue at WebX 2026 with Noritaka Okabe (오카베 노리타카), chief executive officer of JPYC. Under the theme, "The day AI spends money," they plan to discuss automatic payments in the AI era and ways to use digital assets.

The debate sparked by the Zentoushin bankruptcy is expected to serve as a test of whether bitcoin and stablecoins can be practical alternatives in areas that existing financial infrastructure cannot accommodate. In particular, how far JPYC can expand real-world payment locations beyond pilot projects is expected to be a key focus for the market.