Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings is aggressively building an integrated on-chain financial system, with recent moves including a $175 million investment in decentralized lending protocol Morpho, the launch of yen stablecoin JPYSC, and a strategic partnership with the Solana Foundation. The conglomerate, which has been active in crypto for a decade, is now consolidating its scattered digital asset businesses under a unified "on-chain finance" framework that spans stablecoins, tokenized assets, lending, and yield management.
Stablecoins as the foundation
SBI's on-chain strategy starts with stablecoins. On June 24, it launched JPYSC, a yen-pegged stablecoin issued by SBI Shinsei Trust Bank and developed with Startale. As Japan's first trust-type stablecoin, JPYSC is classified as a Type 3 electronic payment instrument under the Payment Services Act, meaning it is not subject to the ¥1 million remittance and holding limits that apply to other stablecoins. This makes it suitable for corporate settlements, large-value transactions, and cross-border payments.
Currently, JPYSC is only available within SBI VC Trade accounts and cannot be transferred to external wallets. SBI plans to open public blockchain circulation once legal and tax issues are resolved. Meanwhile, it has launched JPYSC lending services with an initial annual yield of 3%, and regular yields expected between 1% and 3%.
On the dollar side, SBI VC Trade became the first Japanese platform to offer USDC to retail users in March 2025. It later formed a joint venture with Circle, Circle SBI Japan, and invested $50 million in Circle's NYSE listing. In June 2026, it added RLUSD, a stablecoin issued by Ripple's regulated trust company. Together, JPYSC, USDC, and RLUSD form a dual-currency stablecoin network that connects Japanese yen and global dollar liquidity.
Bringing traditional assets on-chain
Beyond stablecoins, SBI is working to tokenize traditional financial assets. It is developing Strium, a Layer 1 network for tokenized securities and RWA trading, in partnership with Startale. The network aims to support 24/7 spot and derivatives trading of tokenized stocks, bonds, and RWAs. Strium is still in the proof-of-concept phase, with no confirmed testnet or commercial launch date.
SBI has also formed a joint venture with Singapore-based RWA platform DigiFT, holding a 60% stake. The venture, SBI Onchain, will tokenize Japanese assets and connect with overseas on-chain capital. In July, SBI partnered with Solana Foundation to expand its multi-chain approach, focusing on stablecoins, RWAs, cross-border settlements, and institutional on-chain services. The group plans to rename its R3 Japan entity to "SBI Solana Global" to reflect the collaboration.
DeFi for lending and yield
To complete its on-chain finance stack, SBI has invested in two key DeFi platforms. In June, it participated in Morpho's $175 million funding round led by Paradigm, a16z crypto, and Ribbit Capital. Morpho's modular architecture allows institutions to create isolated lending markets with custom collateral and risk parameters, which SBI sees as a credit infrastructure layer for banks and fintechs.
In July, SBI led a $125 million Series C in Gauntlet, a firm known for DeFi risk modeling and now focused on yield vault management. Gauntlet designs on-chain allocation strategies based on assets, yield targets, and risk preferences. Together, Morpho provides the lending network, while Gauntlet manages risk and optimizes returns on top of it.
SBI's on-chain finance blueprint is now taking shape, but most components are still in early stages. The group leverages its financial licenses, customer base, and distribution network to integrate technologies from portfolio companies. Whether these pieces will coalesce into a fully operational on-chain system remains to be seen, but the strategic direction is clear.