SBI to Debut Stablecoin Lending Service with 3% Yield in Japan

Tokyo-based SBI VC Trade will begin accepting applications Thursday for a Japanese yen-denominated stablecoin lending service offering an initial annualized rate of 3% on JPYSC lent for 12 weeks.

Customers will lend JPYSC to the SBI Holdings subsidiary from Thursday and receive the tokens back with a lending fee at maturity, the company said in a Monday press release. At the advertised rate, the gross return over the 12-week term would be about 0.69%, before tax.

The company said the product pays more than the 0.325% to 1% annual rate SBI cited for ordinary yen deposits. Still, it is not a bank deposit, is not covered by deposit insurance and generally cannot be canceled early.

JPYSC lent to SBI VC Trade will also fall outside statutory asset segregation requirements, meaning customers could lose some or all of their tokens if the company goes bankrupt, according to the release.

The launch gives JPYSC a new use case just weeks after SBI introduced the trust-structured yen stablecoin on June 24, with regulated stablecoins evolving from payments to yield-bearing instruments in Japan. SBI VC Trade previously launched stablecoin lending services in Japan in March for Circle’s dollar-denominated USDC (USDC) stablecoin. 

SBI claimed this was the first service to allow Japanese customers to lend their yen-denominated stablecoins in exchange for passive yield.

By offering yields “exceeding” the typical annual rate for yen deposits, SBI anticipates an expansion among yen-denominated stablecoin holders and said the service will be “core” for realizing the future of onchain finance. 

JPYSC lending service features. Source: sbivc.co.jp 

Solana partnership widens onchain ambitions

SBI is separately building the infrastructure it hopes will eventually move JPYSC beyond its own platform and into a broader market for tokenized assets and cross-border settlement.

SBI Holdings announced a strategic partnership with the Switzerland-based Solana Foundation on Monday, aiming to build a Japanese onchain financial market.

As part of the partnership, the Solana Foundation will join SBI R3 Japan, which will be renamed SBI Solana Global and issue a new growth strategy focused on the yen-backed stablecoin.

The initiative aims to position Japan as a leading hub for onchain finance, while expanding stablecoins and tokenized real-world asset usage across Asia. It also includes building more infrastructure for institutional onchain financial services, cross-border payments and payment infrastructure for AI agents.

Related: Metaplanet explores Bitcoin-backed digital credit with JPYC in Japan

Japanese PM reaffirms support for crypto and Web3 startups: report

The stablecoin lending service’s launch follows positive regulatory signals for Japanese Web3 startups and cryptocurrency companies.

The Japanese government plans to strengthen support for crypto and Web3 startups, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reportedly said during a video address at the WebX 2026 conference.

Some of the promised measures include increased funding from government-backed funds and easing of regulatory requirements.

In May 2025, Takaichi introduced the “Startup Total Power Package,” which outlined policies tied to increased governmental funding to accelerate startups. The package builds on the “Five-Year Startup Development Plan” formulated in 2022, which aims to increase investments in startups to 10 trillion yen by the fiscal year 2027.

In April 2026, the Japanese government amended the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act to classify crypto assets as financial instruments, moving digital assets out of the experimental payments category into the same league as its stock market.

Magazine: Dubai tops Asian crypto hubs, Taiwan passes crypto laws: Asia Express