 
 
Ripple has teamed up with Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings to launch Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin in the Japanese market as early as the first quarter of 2026, as the nation’s freshly crafted stablecoin legislations open its market to foreign issuers.
In a Friday announcement, the two companies said they had signed a memorandum of understanding, in which SBI VC Trade, the crypto arm of SBI Holdings, would act as the stablecoin’s distributor.
Ripple’s foray would help step up the “reliability and convenience of stablecoins in the Japanese market,” SBI VC Trade CEO Tomohiko Kondo posited in a statement.
“SBI Group has been leading the development of the cryptocurrency and blockchain field in Japan. 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 in the Japanese market,” said Kondo.
RLUSD, introduced in December 2024, is issued under a New York State trust-company charter and backed fully by cash, short-term U.S. government bonds, and other cash equivalents.
 
According to Ripple, this structure offers regulatory clarity and institutional-grade compliance — features the company claims differentiate RLUSD from competitors.
RLUSD currently boasts a $666.7 million market capitalization, with a 24-hour trading volume of $97 million as of publication time, CoinGecko data shows.
Japan’s Stablecoin Market
In March, NYSE-listed USDC issuer Circle secured the first approval of a regulated U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin in Japan in partnership with SBI Holdings. Tether, which issues the industry’s largest stablecoin USDT, has not gotten a similar green light.
RLUSD’s launch in Japan spotlights the deepening ties between Ripple and SBI, longtime allies in Asia’s blockchain ecosystem. Ripple’s vice president of stablecoins, Jack McDonald, says he hopes the new partnership not only drives “stablecoin utility in Japan but also sets a new benchmark for the entire market.”
The rollout also comes as Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) approved the issuance of the first yen-backed stablecoin in the country earlier this week.
Source: https://zycrypto.com/ripple-and-tradfi-giant-sbi-partner-to-roll-out-rlusd-stablecoin-in-japan-by-early-2026/