SBI Holdings Chief Technology Officer Kefei Lin said at the FinTechOn 2026 & AFA summit that the group is moving traditional financial infrastructure onto blockchain in an ordered sequence, with regulation and market structure taking priority over pure technical innovation. In his framing, the end goal is to make stablecoins and tokenized assets ordinary tools used as naturally as the internet.
The zero-commission playbook came first
Lin traced the method back to SBI’s “zero-commission revolution,” which the company began in 2019. SBI planned to cut online brokerage commissions to zero, then spent four years rebuilding its revenue base through financing operations, proprietary trading, and wholesale finance before formally eliminating domestic stock trading fees in 2023.
He said the decision was initially viewed from the outside as creating an estimated JPY 16 billion revenue hit. Inside the company, however, the result was record operating revenue and operating profit. Lin described the approach as “deliberate sequencing”: build the support structure first, remove the fee later, and reshape the economics of the industry only after the business is ready.
He said the same logic was then applied directly to SBI’s broader on-chain finance plan: put the regulatory framework in place first, build infrastructure one layer at a time, and only after that open access through distribution channels and user-facing services.
Japan’s stablecoin law set the base
Lin said the institutional foundation for SBI’s blockchain finance strategy came from Japan’s stablecoin law, which was legislated in 2022 and took effect in June 2023. Under that framework, Japan created the legal category of “Electronic Payment Instruments,” or EPI, clearly separating fiat-backed stablecoins from regulated crypto assets. He described Japan as one of the earliest jurisdictions to establish this kind of clear structure.
A central feature of the framework is the separation between issuance and distribution. Stablecoin issuance is limited to licensed commercial banks, trust banks, and registered money transfer operators, each subject to different reserve requirements. Institutions that intermediate or custody stablecoins without issuing them must register separately with regulators.
Within that structure, SBI launched the compliant yen stablecoin JPYSC in June this year. The token is issued by SBI Trust Bank and integrated into the SBI VC Trade platform.
Lin also pointed to what he called a concrete lesson for other jurisdictions: tax treatment and custody arrangements need to be settled before regulators approve a launch. Referring to Taiwan as an example, he said markets still in the design phase should bring those issues into the open early.
SBI’s blockchain finance stack has five layers
Lin said SBI is not treating stablecoins as a standalone product. Instead, the group is building a full “blockchain finance stack” from the ground up, organized into five layers.
Settlement layer
This is the foundation of the structure and handles on-chain delivery and settlement of assets. SBI invests in and operates the enterprise blockchain network Canton at this level.
Asset layer
Built on top of settlement, the asset layer starts with stablecoin issuance and extends to tokenized funds, tokenized private credit, and other financial instruments.
Market layer
The market layer provides liquidity and price discovery. Lin said it includes spot AMMs, interest-rate swap protocols, perpetual futures, and stablecoin trading platforms, forming the venue where yield strategies and liquidity management are executed.
On-chain risk management layer
This layer screens risk and packages strategies across those markets, turning technically complex on-chain activity into investment products that are easier to understand. Lin named Onus, Centora, and Chaos Labs as emerging participants and called this layer “the next main battleground.”
Distribution layer
Distribution covers both regulated platforms and non-custodial wallets, serving traditional institutional clients as well as end users.
Lin summarized SBI’s design order in a single sequence: put money on-chain first, tokenize assets next, build markets after that, package risk, and finally distribute through both regulated and non-custodial channels.
The target is to become “boring”
At the end of his talk, Lin made what he presented as a counterintuitive point: the final objective of stablecoins and tokenized finance is not to look revolutionary, but to become “boring.”
His reasoning was that if tokenization is irreversible, then stocks, bonds, and other assets will eventually trade on blockchain in tokenized form. In that case, a payment instrument suitable for on-chain finance becomes an obligation rather than a strategic option. The issue is not whether it should exist, but how to make it safe enough for everyday use, much like the internet evolved from a disruptive technology into infrastructure people barely stop to notice.
To get there, he said the market first needs complete protection structures, including trusts, segregated reserves, and licensed issuance. Only then can transfer costs move close to zero. His stated position was that innovation and protection are not in conflict; the only workable version is to combine them.
Industry coordination should start before rules are finalized
Lin also redefined what an effective industry alliance looks like. In his view, it is not simply a bilateral corporate agreement. The more useful model is one in which private-sector participants and policymakers put unresolved questions on the table before regulatory rules are finalized and while positions are still flexible.
He urged companies to disclose risk-control designs before a product goes live and to invite feedback from regulators and the public. He presented that as both a recommendation to the industry and a path SBI has already followed in Japan.