Ripple and SBI Holdings are set to bring the U.S. dollar-pegged RLUSD stablecoin to Japan by early 2026, marking a major step in the country’s evolving regulatory embrace of fiat-backed digital assets. The move follows recent amendments to Japan’s Payment Services Act that now permit foreign issuers to operate within a structured, bank-friendly licensing framework.

The stablecoin will be issued by Ripple and distributed in Japan through SBI VC Trade - SBI’s licensed crypto exchange - under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two companies, Ripple confirmed Thursday evening.

SBI VC Trade CEO Tomohiko Kondo called the launch “a critical advancement” in improving the “reliability and convenience of stablecoins” in Japan’s retail and institutional crypto markets.

This partnership comes as Japan finalizes its new stablecoin rules that were originally passed in 2022 and came into effect in June 2023. These legal revisions now allow licensed entities such as trust banks and Electronic Payment Instruments Exchange Service Providers to issue and distribute fiat-pegged stablecoins within Japan.

Japan’s Stablecoin Reform Opens the Door for Foreign Issuers

Japan has emerged as a global leader in stablecoin regulation. The June 2023 amendments to the Payment Services Act not only clarified the legal status of stablecoins, but also established a new licensing tier - the Electronic Payment Instruments Exchange Service Provider (EPIESP) - allowing firms to legally distribute foreign-issued stablecoins under strict regulatory oversight.

SBI VC Trade was the first Japanese entity to secure this license, giving it the authority to support U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins like Circle’s USDC, which was approved for distribution earlier in March 2025. Tether’s USDT, by contrast, has yet to be approved under this framework.

Ripple and SBI are now leveraging this path to bring RLUSD, a Ripple-issued dollar stablecoin, into the Japanese financial ecosystem. This effort benefits not only from regulatory clarity, but also SBI’s strong institutional and retail presence in Japan.

RLUSD: Built for Compliance and Institutional Transparency

While RLUSD remains relatively small compared to major rivals - with a market capitalization of roughly $667 million and daily trading volume of $71 million according to CoinGecko - its structure is designed to meet regulatory expectations in high-compliance jurisdictions.

RLUSD is issued under a New York State trust charter, a designation that requires high levels of transparency and capital backing. According to Ripple, the token is fully collateralized by cash, short-term U.S. Treasuries, and equivalent assets, with monthly reserve attestations provided by a third-party auditor.

This level of transparency, combined with Ripple’s enterprise reputation, is expected to appeal to Japanese banks, corporates, and retail investors, who have historically prioritized trust and legal certainty in digital asset instruments.

Rick Maeda, a Tokyo-based fintech analyst at Presto Research, told Decrypt that Japan’s stablecoin environment is uniquely bank-friendly, with gradual, consultative regulatory improvements forming what he called a “regulatory moat.”

“Ripple leverages this moat, along with SBI's deep retail and institutional reach,” Maeda explained, noting that RLUSD’s institutional credibility will help it stand out in a market where regulatory precision is more important than scale.

Stablecoins in Japan: A Carefully Controlled Opening

Unlike other jurisdictions that have struggled to regulate stablecoins amid concerns over consumer protection and financial stability, Japan has taken a methodical approach to digital currencies tied to fiat.

The Japanese Parliament first passed stablecoin legislation in 2022 following the collapse of TerraUSD, which sparked global concern over algorithmic stablecoins. However, Japan’s law strictly prohibits algorithmic models and mandates that all fiat-backed stablecoins be fully redeemable and backed by underlying assets.

Under the new regime:

• Only licensed banks, trust companies, or registered money transfer agents can issue stablecoins.
• Distributors like SBI VC Trade must obtain an Electronic Payment Instruments Exchange Service Provider license.
• Issuers must provide regular reports on reserves, undergo third-party audits, and meet capital adequacy requirements.

This approach has created a structured and compliant-friendly market while also opening Japan to international stablecoin issuers that can meet these standards.

Ripple’s Asia-Pacific Expansion Strategy

The RLUSD launch in Japan also reflects Ripple’s broader push to expand its stablecoin and payments infrastructure across the Asia-Pacific region.

In recent years, Ripple has shifted focus away from the U.S. - where it has been locked in a prolonged legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission - toward more receptive markets including Singapore, the UAE, and now Japan.

Japan in particular has long been a strategic location for Ripple, owing to its joint venture with SBI Holdings dating back to 2016, which helped bring RippleNet and XRP-powered remittances to banks and payment platforms across East Asia.

The RLUSD initiative could serve as a gateway to more compliant stablecoin deployments across regulated markets, especially where governments are now eyeing tokenized deposits, CBDCs, or regulated crypto-yen pilots.

Competitive Landscape: USDC In, USDT Out - For Now

Ripple’s partnership also enters a competitive landscape that is still forming. Circle’s USDC was the first U.S. stablecoin to gain approval for Japanese distribution, granted earlier in 2025 through its partnership with SBI Holdings.

By contrast, Tether’s USDT - the world’s most widely used stablecoin - has not been approved by Japanese regulators, reportedly due to concerns around auditing, legal structure, and reserve transparency.

This has given Ripple and Circle a first-mover advantage in one of Asia’s most heavily regulated but high-potential crypto markets. For Ripple, RLUSD is not merely a payments tool, but a compliance-first financial asset that could power tokenized finance in one of the world’s most conservative banking jurisdictions.

What’s Next for RLUSD in Japan?

With the stablecoin’s launch expected by early 2026, Ripple and SBI will need to clear several final steps:

• Regulatory approval of RLUSD as a recognized stablecoin under Japan’s updated 2026 framework.
• Integration with Japanese banks and exchanges, enabling fiat on-ramps, redemption, and DeFi integrations.
• Retail adoption campaigns to promote RLUSD as a settlement instrument for everyday crypto transactions, such as yield farming, e-commerce payments, or cross-border remittances.

The final regulatory amendments to Japan’s stablecoin framework - which relax certain reserve requirements and offer new licensing flexibility - are set to be finalized next year. This should further smooth the path for RLUSD’s domestic circulation and ecosystem integration.

Final thoughts

Ripple’s upcoming launch of RLUSD in Japan, in partnership with SBI VC Trade, represents a strategic milestone in the global evolution of compliant stablecoins.

Japan’s regulatory clarity, banking involvement, and emphasis on transparency offer Ripple a strong environment to expand its dollar-backed token beyond XRP and into the core of digital finance.

As the global stablecoin race heats up - and governments around the world consider their own tokenized currencies - Ripple’s Japan pivot shows that winning in compliance-focused markets may be just as important as market cap.