SBI Holdings and the Solana Foundation announced a strategic partnership on July 13 to create Japan's first on-chain finance market. The initiative aims to position on-chain finance—where financial asset issuance, distribution, and settlement occur entirely on blockchain—as the next-generation market infrastructure, with Japan becoming a core hub in Asia.
Partnership details and new entity
As part of the agreement, the Solana Foundation will join SBI R3 Japan, which will be renamed SBI Solana Global Co., Ltd. (tentative name). The entity will work alongside existing shareholders SBI Holdings and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) to drive new growth strategies.
Focus areas: stablecoins, tokenized assets, and cross-border payments
SBI Solana Global plans to support the issuance and distribution of stablecoins, including JPYSC, on the Solana network. It will also facilitate the creation and distribution of tokenized real-world assets (RWA) such as corporate bonds, commercial paper, funds, and real estate. Additionally, the company will build cross-border payment infrastructure, offer on-chain financial services for institutional investors, and develop next-generation payment infrastructure for the AI agent era.
Leveraging Japan's regulatory and asset base
SBI noted that Japan possesses abundant financial assets, a large number of market participants, and a legal framework that is ahead of the rest of the world. By directly connecting these advantages to Solana's global network, the partnership aims to link the domestic market with global liquidity. The move is expected to serve as a catalyst for Japan's digital financial asset market to expand into Asia and globally.