- Ripple partners with SBI VC Trade to distribute RLUSD stablecoin across Japan’s regulated financial market.
- Despite stablecoin expansion, XRP price falls 22% since July peak, underperforming wider crypto market trends.
Ripple Labs has reached an agreement with Japanese financial group SBI Holdings to roll out its stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), in Japan. The launch is expected in the first quarter of 2026 and will be managed by SBI’s crypto division, SBI VC Trade.
SBI VC Trade holds several Japanese financial licenses, including approval as the country’s first Electronic Payment Instruments Exchange Service Provider. This allows the platform to handle stablecoin transactions under national regulations.
The $300B stablecoin market is set to grow into the trillions.
Together with @sbivc_official, we’re bringing $RLUSD to Japan in early 2026, offering users and institutions a trusted, regulated and fully-backed stablecoin built for enterprise use cases. https://t.co/htcrMiQkTe
— Ripple (@Ripple) August 22, 2025
Tomohiko Kondo, CEO of SBI VC Trade, said,
“The introduction of RLUSD will not just expand the option of stablecoins in the Japanese market, but is a major step forward in the reliability and convenience of stablecoins.”
RLUSD Backing and Market Standing
Ripple’s stablecoin, launched in December 2024, is backed one-to-one by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term government bonds, and cash equivalents. Ripple provides monthly attestations from an independent auditor to verify reserves.
As of Friday, RLUSD’s market capitalization was $666 million with a 24-hour trading volume of $71 million, according to CoinGecko. While the supply has been growing, RLUSD accounts for just 0.24% of the global $280 billion stablecoin market, which remains dominated by Tether and Circle.
Jack McDonald, Ripple’s senior vice president of stablecoins, commented,
“RLUSD is designed to be a true industry standard, providing a reliable and efficient bridge between traditional and decentralized finance.”
Strengthening Ripple and SBI’s Long Partnership
Ripple and SBI have worked together since 2016 through their joint venture, SBI Ripple Asia, created to expand blockchain-based payment services in the region. The new partnership adds to that collaboration, with executives framing RLUSD distribution as a step toward improving Japan’s digital asset infrastructure.
The move also follows a policy shift in Japan, where regulators recently approved the first yen-denominated stablecoin. Other global players are entering the stablecoin market as well, including MetaMask with its own mUSD product.
Earlier this year, RLUSD gained approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority as a payment option within the Dubai International Financial Centre, further extending Ripple’s reach in international financial hubs.
Ripple’s push into stablecoins has not helped its XRP token in recent trading. On Friday, XRP dropped 3.6% to $2.83 in Asian markets, its lowest price in three weeks. XRP has fallen 22% since its July 18 record high.
The decline came as the broader crypto market also weakened, down 8.5% from its capitalization peak on August 14.
