Japan's Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama has publicly voiced support for a test run project aimed at advancing securities settlement in the country using blockchain technology. The initiative, which seeks to improve the transparency and immediacy of rights transfers by recording information on a distributed ledger, has received backing from the country's Financial Services Agency (FSA).
Notably, Minister Katayama highlighted that the SBI Group, a major Japanese financial conglomerate, is considering a similar blockchain-based initiative. She believes blockchain and stablecoins can enhance payments on the Tokyo market, support cross-border settlement, and position Japan at the forefront of international financial competition.
This development is significant for Ripple and its associated digital assets, as SBI Group is a key partner heavily involved in Ripple and blockchain payments. SBI's CEO, Yoshitaka Kitao, has previously shown strong support for Ripple. The ministerial endorsement is seen as potentially expanding Ripple's role in Japan's financial system, with its XRP token and USD-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, poised to play a significant part in cross-border payments.
The news comes as XRP price shows signs of recovery, rallying over 8% to approximately $1.47. This rebound follows a period of significant decline, where XRP lost over 30% of its value in the previous 30 days. The price movement also coincided with broader market optimism fueled by favorable U.S. inflation data, which increased expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
Additionally, Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin continues to gain traction, now holding over $1.5 billion in assets following its recent listing on Binance. Ripple Labs is further developing the XRP Ledger's utility, working on a permissioned decentralized exchange (DEX) feature designed for institutional use, which could drive further adoption of both XRP and RLUSD.
