SBI ARUHI, Japan's largest mortgage lender under the SBI Group, has announced a new shareholder benefit program that will distribute XRP as a reward. The initiative, approved by the board of directors on March 12, 2026, will officially take effect on March 31, 2026. This move integrates cryptocurrency into traditional corporate shareholder returns, building on the company's existing practice of providing year-end and interim dividends.
The program is designed to express appreciation for investor support, raise awareness of SBI ARUHI and the SBI Group, and deepen understanding of blockchain technology and digital assets. It also underscores the SBI Group's longstanding relationship with XRP, which dates back to the formation of SBI Ripple Asia and its status as a major external shareholder in Ripple Labs.
Eligibility for the XRP rewards is strictly tied to the shareholder registry as of March 31, 2026. Shareholders must hold a minimum of 100 shares to qualify. The reward structure is tiered: investors holding between 100 and 999 shares will receive 500 yen worth of XRP, regardless of holding period. For those with 1,000 shares or more, the reward is 500 yen if held for less than a year, and 1,000 yen if the holding period exceeds one year. The company will track continuous holding for large shareholders using registry dates from March 31, 2025, September 30, 2025, and March 31, 2026.
To claim the XRP, recipients must have a personal trading account with SBI VC Trade. SBI ARUHI will send a detailed Shareholder Benefit Guide by mid-June 2026 outlining the application process. Market analysts have highlighted this development as a sign of XRP's growing real-world dominance in Japan, questioning if broader mainstream adoption for the cryptocurrency is imminent.
