Key Highlights
- Japan’s stablecoin market is growing, but trust in issuers, especially banks, is the biggest factor deciding adoption.
- Ripple’s RLUSD is strong in cross-border payments through SBI, but faces competition from Japanese banks building their own stablecoins.
- Despite Ripple’s presence, Japanese banks continue to lead in trust, especially for domestic use cases.
Japan’s stablecoin market is becoming a key battleground for Ripple’s RLUSD, as it enters a system where trust plays a central role.
The main question is how RLUSD will compete in a market where more people are interested in stablecoins, but they still prefer issuers they already trust and use.
Ripple’s journey into Japan so far
Japan has long been one of Ripple’s strongest markets. This all started in 2016, when SBI Group, a Japan-based financial service firm, invested in Ripple, which later built a long-term partnership that expanded into real use cases.
In 2021, SBI Remit launched Japan’s first XRP-based international remittance service. SBI VC Trade also lists XRP as one of its most widely used crypto assets.
In August 2025, Ripple and SBI announced plans to bring RLUSD in Japan through SBI VC Trade, meaning that the stablecoin is not entering alone but through an already built local system.
Strong interest in digital assets, but careful adoption
A survey by Nomura and Laser Digital, conducted between December 2025 and January 2026 on 518 Japanese investment professionals, shows strong institutional interest in digital assets.
According to the survey, 63% of respondents said stablecoins could be used for treasury management and cross-border payments. The scope also includes investment in crypto and tokenized securities. The survey also showed that 65% of respondents view crypto assets as a way to diversify portfolios, with many allocating between 2% and 5% of their total assets.
Interest was also high in staking, lending, derivatives, and tokenized assets, with all above 60% among respondents.
Trust still decides who wins the stablecoin race
Despite this interest, trust remains the deciding factor. The survey found that stablecoins issued by major financial institutions are dominating the Japanese market. They ranked highest in trust across JPY, USD, and EUR. In contrast, crypto-native issuers ranked lower. This reflects the region’s regulatory structure, where the FSA limits issuance of digital-money stablecoins to only banks, trust companies, and regulated fund transfer services.
Ripple’s RLUSD enters this environment as a dollar-backed stablecoin designed for institutional use. It is backed by US dollar deposits, government bonds, and cash equivalents.
It is also built for compliance and integrated into Ripple Payments for cross-border and treasury flows. Through SBI VC Trade, RLUSD is expected to be listed once approval is complete, placing it inside Japan’s regulated system.
At the same time, Japanese banks are not standing still. MUFG, Mizuho, SMBC, and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust, along with Progmat, are reportedly working on joint stablecoin projects with support from regulators.
SBI is also working on other stablecoin plans, including support from Circle and studies on yen-based stablecoins with SMBC.
Different issuer, different use cases
The report suggests how different use cases may favor different issuers. For instance, RLUSD is stronger in cross-border payments, as well as making international money transfers happen easily.
But stablecoins backed by banks are stronger when it comes to domestic payment and settlement of tokenized securities, meaning the market is split based on the financial use.
Ripple already has strong payment networks in Asia through SBI. It has remittance routes to countries like the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia. But Japanese banks are building systems that focus more on local settlement inside Japan. In short, different issuers, different use cases, all developing side by side.
Broader context
Unlike many other countries where crypto adoption grows freely, Japan is building everything around trust and regulations. This makes it a key place to see how global crypto firms like Ripple perform against traditional banks entering the same space.
The Nomura survey also points out that 31% of investors now feel positive about crypto assets, while negative views have dropped to 18%. Still, adoption barriers remain a concern.
Ultimately, RLUSD’s success in Japan will depend on how trust is applied. If institutions treat cross-border stablecoins differently from domestic ones, RLUSD may grow in international use. If not, bank-issued stablecoins may dominate most of the market in Japan.
Also Read: Ripple Brings RLUSD and XRPL Deeper Into Exodus Ecosystem
