SBI Holdings to issue blockchain bond for retail investors, offering XRP rewards

Japan’s major financial group SBI Holdings will issue its first blockchain-based bond aimed at retail investors.

According to CoinDesk on the 21st (local time), SBI Holdings will launch the “SBI START Bond” and manage the entire process on a blockchain via “ibet for Fin,” a platform specialized in issuing security tokens operated by BOOSTRY. The issuance size is 10 billion yen (about $64.5 million), with a 3-year maturity, and it plans to pay semiannual interest at an annual rate of 1.85~2.45%.

Notably, investors will be offered XRP rewards. Japan-resident individuals and corporations that subscribe for 100,000 yen (about $650) or more and hold an SBI VC Trade account can receive XRP in proportion to their subscription amount. According to the product information, XRP worth 200 yen per 100,000 yen will be paid, and distributed through 2029 at issuance and on each subsequent interest payment date.

Trading of the bond on the secondary market is scheduled to begin on March 25 via the dedicated “START” trading system of the Osaka Digital Exchange.

SBI Holdings has actively supported the XRP ecosystem since signing a partnership with Ripple in 2016. It has pursued an XRP-based remittance business between Japan and the Philippines, and there have also been cases at the subsidiary level of distributing XRP to shareholders. Yoshitaka Kitao, Chairman and CEO of SBI Holdings, is reported to hold about 9% of Ripple Labs.

SBI has also been expanding its stablecoin business recently. In cooperation with Circle, it has pushed to launch USDC in Japan, and with Ripple it signed an MOU for the distribution of the Ripple Dollar (RLUSD) stablecoin. This blockchain bond issuance is seen as an extension of its strategy to combine traditional finance with digital assets.