SBI VC Trade, the crypto asset exchange operated by SBI Holdings, said it will launch its USDC Lending service on March 19, 2026. The product lets users lend USDC to the platform and receive principal plus yield in USDC at maturity. According to the company, this is the first licensed stablecoin lending service of its kind offered by a regulated operator in Japan.
A 12-week launch campaign with 10% annualized yield
The exchange described the product as a consumer lending transaction. In the initial offering, users can subscribe for a 12-week term at an introductory 10% annualized rate. After the launch period, the service is expected to settle at around 5% annualized. Each account may apply for up to 5,000 USDC in a fundraising round, and early cancellation is generally not allowed. When the term ends, SBI VC Trade will return both principal and yield in USDC.
The positioning is clear. SBI is presenting USDC not only as a digital dollar for trading, but also as a dollar-denominated yield product that retail users can understand more easily through a familiar savings-style structure.
Set against Japan’s dollar deposit market
In its announcement, SBI also compared the service with foreign currency dollar deposits commonly offered in Japan. It said ordinary USD time deposits usually fall in a range of around 0.01% to 4% annually, while USDC Lending may deliver a higher return when market conditions allow. That framing puts the product closer to a financial savings tool than a pure crypto trading feature.
Stablecoins are expanding beyond exchange use
The launch also fits a wider shift in the global stablecoin market. Visa said on its stablecoin information page that total stablecoin supply has exceeded $272 billion, while adjusted global transaction volume over the past 12 months reached $10.2 trillion. Circle, for its part, said USDC recorded $9.6 trillion in on-chain transaction volume in the third quarter of 2025, up 680% year over year. Those figures point to stablecoins moving beyond exchange settlement and into cross-border payments, on-chain settlement, institutional finance, and capital markets activity.
Japan’s model starts with regulation first
Japan has drawn attention because its stablecoin path differs from many other markets. Rather than allowing the sector to grow first and regulating later, authorities built a legal structure before opening the market step by step. The Financial Services Agency says digital-money type stablecoins must be linked to fiat value, redeemed at face value, and issued by banks, fund transfer firms, or trust companies. They must also provide clear redemption rights and comply with AML/CFT requirements. Algorithmic stablecoins such as Terra, or tokens without fiat redemption, are not treated under the same stablecoin framework in Japan.
After legal revisions in 2022, amendments to Japan’s Payment Services Act and related orders took effect in 2023. The framework formally brought stablecoins and their intermediaries under regulation, while creating rules for Electronic Payment Instruments and the businesses that handle them. Stablecoin transfers were also folded into Travel Rule, KYC, and suspicious transaction reporting requirements.
SBI and Circle moved USDC into Japan’s regulated market
Within that structure, SBI VC Trade completed registration as an Electronic Payment Instruments Exchange Service Provider in March 2025, becoming the first operator in Japan to finish the process and gain the ability to handle stablecoins. Circle then announced its partnership with SBI, and USDC circulation in Japan officially began on March 26, 2025.
The new lending service shows that Japan’s stablecoin market is moving past the question of legality and into the next stage of practical use. Adoption is still early compared with the country’s existing banking and payment systems, but Japan already stands out as one of the few major economies with a clearly codified route for stablecoins.