Ripple, SBI Launch Dollar Stablecoin RLUSD in Japan

Ripple said June 25 that it launched its dollar-backed stablecoin Ripple USD, or RLUSD, in Japan with SBI Holdings and subsidiary SBI VC Trade.

The rollout followed approval from Japan’s Financial Services Agency. RLUSD has been recognized as an electronic payment instrument for foreign-issued stablecoins under Japan’s Payment Services Act, allowing both institutional and retail investors to access it on SBI VC Trade’s platform.

Ripple and SBI have been working to bring RLUSD to Japan under a memorandum of understanding signed in August 2025. The companies said the launch will help expand the use of regulated stablecoins in Japan and across Asia.

Jack McDonald, Ripple’s senior vice president for stablecoins, said Japan has led digital-asset adoption through regulatory clarity and financial innovation. He added that RLUSD, through Ripple’s partnership with SBI Group, will connect Japanese companies and individuals more efficiently to global liquidity across payments, asset tokenization and collateral management.

Tomohiko Kondo, chief executive officer of SBI VC Trade, said he was pleased to support RLUSD as a U.S. dollar-based stablecoin. He said Ripple and SBI Group have worked together for years on a shared vision for the future of on-chain finance, and that RLUSD’s introduction marks a major milestone in that partnership. SBI VC Trade plans to continue expanding RLUSD-based services and use cases, he added.

RLUSD is an enterprise-focused stablecoin backed by U.S. dollar reserve assets and designed around regulatory compliance and transparency. Ripple said the token has reached a market capitalization of about $1.7 billion since its launch late last year and is being used in cross-border payments, business-to-business settlement and supply-chain finance.

Ripple and SBI Group have jointly pursued blockchain-based financial infrastructure and digital-asset businesses in Japan and the broader Asia-Pacific region since 2016. The companies said the RLUSD launch will help accelerate the expansion of a regulated stablecoin ecosystem.