Japan's SBI Holdings this week announced a ¥10 billion (approx. $64.5 million) blockchain bond issuance – the SBI START Bonds – featuring an unusual twist: investors receive XRP as a reward for buying the bond.
The bond carries a 3-year tenor, A- credit rating, estimated annual interest rate of 1.85% to 2.45%, semi-annual coupon payments, and Mizuho Bank as bond manager. These terms are standard for Japanese corporate bonds, but the XRP bonus sets it apart. The subscription period runs from March 11 to 23, with a minimum face value of ¥10,000, open to domestic Japanese retail investors.
Subscribers must open an SBI VC Trade account to instantly receive XRP equivalent to their subscription amount. Additional XRP distributions will be made on coupon payment dates in 2027, 2028, and 2029 — for every ¥100,000 invested, investors get ¥200 worth of XRP. This creates a hybrid bond offering both fiat interest and crypto rewards.
A Decade-Long SBI-Ripple Partnership
Why XRP? In 2016, SBI acquired roughly 9% of Ripple Labs, becoming its largest external shareholder. The same year, they formed a joint venture, SBI Ripple Asia, to promote blockchain-based cross-border payments. In 2019, SBI Remit began using XRP as a bridge currency for remittances — one of its earliest real-world use cases.
In November 2025, Ripple completed a $500 million funding round at a $40 billion valuation, valuing SBI's 9% stake at approximately $3.6 billion. In February 2026, SBI VC Trade became Japan's first institution to secure an "electronic payment instrument transaction service provider" license, allowing it to handle foreign stablecoins like USDC. Over nearly a decade, SBI has embedded XRP into its product line — from equity investment and cross-border payments to stablecoin licensing and now on-chain bonds.
Japan's Security Token Market: ¥16.8 Billion Foundation
SBI's on-chain bond is not an isolated case. Japan's security token market has moved beyond proof-of-concept into early scaling. Other notable issuances include MUFG in November 2025 with a ¥10 billion digital bond, Nomura Securities completing DvP settlement tests for multiple digital bonds (shortening settlement to T+1), and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government offering up to ¥5 million in subsidies to encourage digital bond issuance.
The Financial Services Agency (FSA) is pushing a major regulatory reform: moving crypto assets from the Payment Services Act to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, classifying them as financial products rather than payment instruments, aligning crypto oversight with stocks and bonds. Tax changes accompany: crypto capital gains tax drops from progressive rates (max 55%) to a flat 20%, matching traditional capital gains tax. Banks will be allowed to trade and hold crypto. The digital yen (DCJPY) is planned for launch in April by Japan Post Bank and the Bank of Japan; Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui, and Mizuho are testing yen-pegged stablecoins for cross-border payments.