Last week, Japanese financial giant SBI Group made a series of major announcements: first, it announced partnerships with Circle, Ripple, and Startale, followed by a collaboration with Chainlink to jointly promote stablecoins, RWA tokenization, and cross-border payment solutions. In just a few days, SBI swiftly transformed from the image of a "traditional financial institution" to one of Japan's most proactive Web3 players.

This was not just a regular business collaboration but more of a signal that SBI was sending to the market: it aims to seize the opportunity in the next round of financial infrastructure transformation, evolving from a "financial service provider" to a "digital asset infrastructure provider." With the launch of a yen-based stablecoin on the horizon and the gradual formation of an Asian crypto corridor, SBI's strategic move undoubtedly placed itself at the forefront of Japan's financial digitization transformation.

Traditional Financial Giant Building Japan's Digital Financial Landscape

SBI's story can be traced back to 1999 when it was still under SoftBank as "SoftBank Investment," a name derived from the initials of SoftBank Investment. After becoming independent in 2006, the company was officially renamed SBI Holdings, Inc., with its headquarters in Tokyo. Initially focusing on securities, banking, and insurance as its three core businesses, it later expanded into asset management and biotechnology, forming a comprehensive group spanning finance and healthcare.

Over two decades later, SBI is no longer the "junior" it once was but has grown into a heavyweight player in the Japanese financial market that cannot be ignored. Some even see it as the most powerful challenger outside of the "Big Three Banks" (Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui, Mizuho)—a candidate for the "Fourth Largest Bank." Today, SBI's business framework revolves around five major sectors: financial services, private equity investments, asset management, crypto assets, and next-generation businesses. This diversified strategy has not only solidified its position in the Japanese market but also laid a natural foundation for its later entry into the digital asset field.

More importantly, SBI did not merely "ride the hype" as a short-term trend. Behind its recent frequent announcements of partnerships, SBI has actually been deeply involved in the crypto ecosystem for many years. Leveraging its traditional financial background in securities and asset management, SBI has gradually expanded its footprint through its subsidiaries to cover trading, payments, custody, lending, liquidity services, and almost every aspect of digital finance infrastructure. At the same time, it has not missed out on the new wave of Web3, exploring everything from NFTs and decentralized finance to tokenization of real-world assets. Crucially, it is willing to ally with international giants: whether Ripple, Circle, or R3, they are all partnering with SBI to explore new possibilities in stablecoins, cross-border payments, and tokenization.

In other words, today's SBI is no longer just a traditional financial group in Japan, but more like one of the rare "dual-engine" entities in East Asia—firmly rooted in the fertile soil of traditional finance while accelerating forward in the wave of crypto finance.

From Zero to One: SBI Secures Japan's Only Stablecoin License

In the stablecoin race, SBI has taken full advantage of being the "first mover in compliance." As early as 2023, when the Japanese Financial Services Agency relaxed the ban on foreign stablecoin issuance in the country, SBI keenly sensed the opportunity, swiftly forming a strategic partnership with Circle. Just one year later, its subsidiary SBI VC Trade platform completed the registration for USDC trading, becoming Japan's first and only company holding a stablecoin license, and was the first to introduce USDC to the market.

Subsequently, SBI and Circle established a joint venture named Circle SBI Japan to specifically promote USDC in Japan. In June 2025, when Circle went public, SBI decisively invested $50 million, further solidifying their relationship. Last week, the two companies expanded their cooperation once again, planning to further integrate USDC into cross-border payments and digital financial services. Leveraging this series of actions, SBI has not only taken the lead in compliance and infrastructure among its peers but also become a key gateway for Circle to access the Asian market. The performance in the digital asset business is equally impressive: in 2024, related revenue reached 80 billion yen, with a year-on-year growth of over 40%, and the user base doubled directly from 800,000 to 1.65 million within a year.

If USDC is seen as SBI's "gateway" in the stablecoin world, then Ripple's RLUSD serves as its "bridge" to cross-border payments. Just last week, SBI announced the introduction of RLUSD into the Japanese market, scheduled to officially launch in the first quarter of 2026. The design concept of this stablecoin is simple: integrating the stability of the US dollar with the speed of blockchain, which is both compliant and transparent, enabling instant settlements. For example, if a U.S. user wants to remit dollars to Japan, the funds will first be converted to XRP, swiftly transmitted across the border in seconds through blockchain, then converted back to yen on the Japanese side, with RLUSD acting as the anchor asset to ensure the stability and trustworthiness of cross-border funds.

Through a dual-track approach with Circle and Ripple, SBI has almost established a complete stablecoin landscape: USDC handles payments and trading, while RLUSD focuses on cross-border settlement and enterprise services. With these two tracks running in parallel, SBI has firmly positioned itself at the center stage of the Asian stablecoin ecosystem.

The Rise of RWA, SBI Building Japan's Version of "Robinhood"

Beyond stablecoins, SBI has also set its sights on RWA (Real World Asset tokenization). This has been one of the fastest-growing tracks in the past two years — growing from $50 billion in early 2023 to almost $300 billion today, a more than fivefold increase. Bonds, funds, and government bonds are currently the mainstream applications, but the share of stock-like assets is still less than 1%, indicating significant potential.

Imagine buying a bond that would usually take several days to settle before the funds are available, but when put on-chain, can be settled instantly like a transfer. Similarly, for a fund that traditionally had high investment thresholds and slow redemptions, tokenization turns it into a "digital ticket" that can be bought or sold 24/7. For investors, this unprecedented convenience; for institutions, it represents a significant boost in capital efficiency. It's no wonder that overseas giants like Gemini, Kraken, Robinhood, and others have all launched similar round-the-clock tokenization trading platforms.

SBI clearly doesn't want to fall behind. In 2025, the group partnered with the Web3 infrastructure company Startale to establish an on-chain tokenization platform in Japan, securing "milestone-based commitment funding" with the aim of building a comprehensive system covering issuance, clearing, custody, and cross-chain interoperability.

More importantly, SBI is not going solo; it has also brought in the global "plumber" of the blockchain industry — Chainlink. This company excels in enabling "interconnectivity" between blockchains. In simple terms, it allows tokens from different chains to flow smoothly, much like cross-bank transfers between different banks. This time, Chainlink will help SBI ensure the security and compliance of cross-chain transactions in asset tokenization such as bonds and real estate. Additionally, Chainlink will bring fund Net Asset Value (NAV) data onto the chain for public transparency, enabling investors to track asset values in real-time. Its Proof of Reserve technology will also provide on-chain verification for stablecoins and funds, mitigating the risk of disconnect between "paper assets" and actual reserves.

If Robinhood's significance in the U.S. is to bring stocks and crypto derivatives to retail investors in a "zero-threshold" manner, then SBI is attempting a similar path in Japan. Leveraging its strong foundation in securities and banking, coupled with its pioneering efforts in the stablecoin and RWA fields, SBI is striving to popularize tokenized assets as an investment channel. For Japanese investors, this not only means achieving 7x24 stock and bond trading like a regular transfer but also means they can participate directly in the global crypto financial market within a compliant and secure framework. In other words, the RWA platform built by SBI is not just a technical upgrade but rather a "Robinhood-style" financial inclusion experiment that could potentially mark a watershed moment for Japan's capital markets to formally enter the Web3 era.

From the Fourth Largest Bank to a Digital Asset Infrastructure Giant

For SBI, entering the crypto world is by no means a momentary impulse but a strategically natural progression. Japan has long been in a ultra-low interest rate environment, where traditional financial services such as banking and securities have become highly homogenized, with profit margins squeezed to almost nothing. Meanwhile, stablecoins and Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization on a global scale are entering the fast lane of compliance. The Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) lifting stablecoin regulations in 2023 is equivalent to giving the green light to this new track. SBI did not choose to stand by; instead, it acted decisively, joining hands with international partners like Circle and Ripple, transforming from a "industry observer" to a "rule maker," taking the lead in stablecoins and RWAs, the two most promising battlefields.

Moreover, this is not just a business expansion, but a transition in identity. In the past, SBI was seen as the "fourth largest bank in Japan"; now, it is striving to upgrade itself to become the "first infrastructure giant of the digital asset era." Currently, SBI is preparing to launch Japan's first Bitcoin futures on the Osaka Dojima Exchange and has set a goal to increase digital asset business profits to 50 billion yen by fiscal year 2028, a growth of 150%. This means that SBI's ambition has long transcended the framework of traditional finance; what it is truly betting on is the deep integration of the Japanese financial system and blockchain. In other words, SBI is not just betting on the price fluctuations of crypto assets but aims to become a protagonist in reshaping the new round of global financial order.

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