Japanese financial giant SBI has been frequently active in the cryptocurrency space recently. In August, a latest report co-published by Ripple, CB Insights, and the UK Centre for Blockchain Technologies pointed out that Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Japan's SBI Group have become the most active players in the traditional finance sector supporting blockchain startups. Recently, SBI has reached collaborations with Chainlink, Ripple, Startale, etc., to facilitate global institutional adoption of digital assets.

1. Joining the Stablecoin Boom
   On August 21, 2025, Ripple announced a collaboration with Japan's SBI Group. Ripple's announcement mentioned a new memorandum of understanding with Ripple Labs regarding the distribution of RLUSD in Japan. SBI VC Trade (which completed registration in March to support USDC operations) aims to launch the stablecoin within the fiscal year ending March 2026. SBI noted: "The purpose of establishing this joint venture is to promote the use of USDC in Japan and create new use cases in the Web3 and digital finance fields." Tomohiko Kondo, CEO of SBI VC Trade, said: "The launch of RLUSD not only expands the choices of stablecoins in the Japanese market but is also a significant step forward for the reliability and convenience of stablecoins in the Japanese market."

2. Building a Trading Platform
   On August 21, 2025, SBI Holdings announced a strategic partnership with crypto infrastructure company Startale Group to jointly launch an on-chain tokenized stock trading platform. The platform will combine SBI's financial ecosystem and Startale's blockchain infrastructure to support 24/7 trading of tokenized stocks, offering faster cross-border settlement and fractional equity ownership features. Other features include advanced account abstraction, institutional custody, and real-time compliance monitoring for international regulations. Sota Watanabe, founder of Startale Group, said: "We believe the tokenized stock revolution is the biggest opportunity, and on-chain trading is the next frontier. While traditional markets are closed 70% of the time, our platform will support continuous, programmable trading of tokenized stocks, including native stocks from the US and Japan."

On July 17, 2018, SBI Holdings officially publicly launched its cryptocurrency exchange SBI VC Trade. On July 31, 2019, SBI VC Trade launched its virtual currency spot trading service VCTrade Pro. On March 4, 2025, SBI VC Trade announced it had completed the first registration for stablecoin trading in Japan. After receiving approval, it began handling USDC transactions on March 12. The company will be able to provide buying, selling, and deposit/withdrawal services for USDC to individual and corporate clients, and is required to hold US dollar collateral equal to or greater than the amount of USDC deposited by customers. The SBI Group's Shinsei Trust Bank will assume the role of trust custodian.

3. Acquiring a Web3 Media Outlet
   On August 22, 2025, SBI Holdings announced the signing of a share transfer agreement with some existing shareholders of CoinPost, which operates Web3-related media and event businesses. Through this transaction, SBI Holdings will acquire a majority stake in CoinPost, making it a consolidated subsidiary of SBI Holdings. The consolidation is expected to be completed on October 1, 2025, subject to the completion of all necessary share transfer procedures.

Yoshitaka Kitao, Chairman and CEO of SBI Holdings, said: "With CoinPost joining the SBI Group, we will further strengthen the reliable information infrastructure that CoinPost has built in the cryptocurrency and Web3 fields. While ensuring the media's fairness and neutrality, we will work hand-in-hand with group companies to accelerate the social implementation of Web3 and contribute to building the foundation for new financial and digital industries, thereby promoting the development of Japan's crypto industry."

4. Creating Crypto Tools
   On August 25, 2025, SBI Group partnered with blockchain oracle platform Chainlink. SBI and Chainlink will research tools to allow real-world assets (RWA), such as on-chain bonds, to be tokenized across blockchains, and use Chainlink's technology to provide on-chain verification for stablecoin reserves, among other things.

SBI noted: The deal with Chainlink will see the company use its blockchain interoperability protocol for a range of use cases, including tokenizing RWA and helping to facilitate foreign exchange and cross-border transactions. Sergey Nazarov, Co-Founder of Chainlink, said: "I'm excited to see our great work moving towards mass production usage status."

On March 29, 2024, SBI Holdings, SBI Real Estate Finance, and Sumitomo Real Estate Sales collaborated to develop SREC, a blockchain-based solution for sharing real estate transaction documents and data. SREC can be used to share documents and data regarding the progress of sales transaction processes, making them more transparent.

5. Applying for ETFs
   On July 31, 2025, SBI proposed launching two new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) covering XRP, BTC, and gold. SBI's crypto asset ETF will offer direct investment in XRP and BTC. If approved, it will become a key catalyst for driving institutional adoption of XRP in Japan. By combining the growth potential of cryptocurrencies with the stability of gold, SBI offers novel risk-adjusted investment vehicles. This strategy caters to a broader investor base and also positions SBI as a pioneer at the intersection of traditional finance and blockchain innovation. Market analysts believe SBI's move could prompt other financial institutions to launch similar products.

6. Expanding Global Markets
   On November 5, 2024, Japan's SBI Digital Markets strengthened its role in the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) "Project Guardian" by launching new pilot projects aimed at promoting the application of tokenized securities in global markets. The subsidiary of Japan's SBI Group is collaborating with financial institutions to develop a cross-border framework for tokenized assets, connecting regulated digital asset exchanges in multiple regions to improve liquidity and reduce costs. The company announced on Monday that through its fixed-income pilot project, SBIDM is creating an international network for tokenized asset-backed securities, covering initial issuance and secondary trading.

7. Entering the Chain Gaming Arena
   On August 29, 2024, the chain gaming platform Oasys announced a strategic partnership with Japanese financial group SBI Holdings and received funding support. The collaboration with SBI Holding will propel Oasys to new heights, enhance the liquidity of the OAS token, and strengthen ecosystem development. Previously, Oasys had already undertaken several collaborations with the SBI Group, including listing the OAS token on SBI VC Trade in May 2023 and integrating with SBINFT Market.

Yoshitaka Kitao, Representative Director, Chairman, President and CEO of SBI Holdings, Inc., said: "Oasys is a highly promising Japanese blockchain project designed for gaming applications. Since its inception, it has attracted several globally renowned major game development companies as initial validators. Our group has actively invested in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space from an early stage, starting with investment in Ripple in 2016 and R3 in 2017, and has built an ecosystem capable of providing a wide range of products and services. Through the collaboration with Oasys, we are committed to further expanding the use cases of blockchain technology."