Ripple and Japan’s SBI Holdings have officially launched RLUSD in the Japanese market after receiving approval from the Financial Services Agency. The dollar-backed stablecoin has been classified as a Type 4 foreign-issued electronic payment instrument under Japan’s Payment Services Act — the same regulatory framework updated on June 1, 2026, to allow qualifying foreign stablecoins to operate inside one of Asia’s most controlled financial markets.

Distribution is handled through SBI VC Trade, a subsidiary of SBI Holdings. The exchange was already licensed to distribute USDC in Japan, meaning the infrastructure for dollar-denominated stablecoins was in place before RLUSD arrived.

“Japan has long been a leader in digital asset adoption, underpinned by both regulatory clarity and financial innovation. Through our collaboration with SBI Group, RLUSD will serve as a bridge for payments, tokenization and collateral management.”

Jack McDonald, SVP Stablecoins, Ripple

The launch marks a key milestone in Ripple’s effort to grow RLUSD beyond the US. Since debuting in late 2024, the stablecoin has reached a market capitalization of roughly $1.7 billion. Ripple and SBI expect RLUSD to play a role in cross-border payments, tokenized financial products, and institutional liquidity management — areas where stablecoins are gaining traction among regulated financial institutions globally.

Why Japan matters for Ripple

SBI Holdings has been one of Ripple’s most prominent institutional partners globally since 2016, collaborating across cross-border payments, digital asset custody, and now stablecoin distribution. The Japan launch represents more than a new market — it validates the regulatory pathway Ripple spent months building through its dual-jurisdiction structure: NYDFS oversight on the issuance side, FSA approval on the distribution side.

The timing also puts RLUSD directly alongside SBI’s own JPYSC yen stablecoin, which launched the same week. With Metaplanet backing JPYC and the three Japanese megabanks progressing toward their own joint stablecoin, Japan’s on-chain currency stack is being built quickly — and Ripple now has a formal seat at the table.