SBI Holdings, a major Japanese financial institution and Ripple's largest external shareholder, has launched a 10 billion yen (approximately $64 million) blockchain bond offering returns paid in XRP. This landmark move, executed in February 2026, represents the first time a major Japanese financial institution has used a cryptocurrency as a direct reward mechanism for investors. The bond issuance is part of a broader strategic push by SBI, which includes plans to roll out Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin in Japan and a new partnership between SBI Ripple Asia and the Asia Web3 Alliance Japan to support startups building on the XRP Ledger.
SBI's deep, nearly decade-long ties with Ripple through their joint venture, SBI Ripple Asia, have focused on building real cross-border payment infrastructure across Japan, South Korea, India, and the Philippines. Against this backdrop, CEO Yoshitaka Kitao's public statement that "XRP will be very expensive" has garnered significant attention. Kitao linked a potential price surge to a favorable outcome in Ripple's ongoing legal proceedings with U.S. regulators, suggesting a positive court ruling could trigger a major price jump.
Separately, crypto analyst Remi has proposed a macroeconomic thesis linking XRP's price to Japanese monetary policy. He suggests that rising yields on Japan's 10-year government bonds could force the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to raise interest rates. This, in turn, could trigger a "reverse carry trade," where global borrowers repay cheap yen loans, causing a liquidity crisis that XRP could help resolve. Remi speculates this scenario could propel the XRP price to between $50 and $150, or even $1,000 in an extreme bull case, though these are highly speculative forecasts. He also noted that Japanese banks may be awaiting regulatory clarity, such as the U.S. CLARITY Act, to fully adopt XRP.
