tl;dr
Ripple Labs is partnering with SBI Holdings to distribute Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD, in Japan through SBI VC Trade starting Q1 2026. SBI VC Trade, licensed as Japan’s first Electronic Payment Instruments Exchange Service Provider, aims to expand stablecoin options with RLUSD. The partnership traces...
Ripple Labs has announced a collaboration with SBI Holdings, a leading Japanese financial conglomerate, to distribute Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD, in Japan via SBI VC Trade starting Q1 2026. SBI VC Trade, holding multiple Japanese financial licenses and recognized as the country’s first Electronic Payment Instruments Exchange Service Provider, aims to expand stablecoin options in the Japanese market through RLUSD.
SBI VC Trade CEO Tomohiko Kondo emphasized that RLUSD’s introduction will enhance both the reliability and convenience of stablecoins in Japan. However, it remains unclear whether RLUSD will be accessible to retail users or exclusively to financial institutions. The partnership between Ripple and SBI dates back to 2016, highlighted by the creation of SBI Ripple Asia, a joint venture designed to boost Ripple’s services across Asia.
Despite launching only in December, RLUSD occupies a modest share of the stablecoin market with a circulating supply of $666 million, representing just 0.24% of the $280 billion stablecoin sector dominated by players like Tether and Circle. In related developments, Ripple has provided the Gemini crypto exchange with a $75 million secured credit line, expandable to $150 million. Gemini may utilize RLUSD to settle its anticipated U.S. IPO, a move that industry analysts find noteworthy. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s MetaMask has entered the competitive stablecoin space with its own issuance, mUSD.
On the price front, Ripple’s cross-border payments token, XRP, faced a 3.6% decline over 24 hours, hitting a three-week low of $2.83 in Asian trading on Friday morning. This drop occurs despite positive announcements around Ripple and growing prospects for a spot XRP ETF approval. XRP’s price has fallen 22% from its mid-July peak, underperforming the broader crypto market, which has declined around 8.5% since its August 14 high.