Japan’s SBI Shinsei Bank will launch a pilot program on June 10, 2026, allowing depositors to earn cryptocurrency rewards on their savings. According to a report by Nikkei, the three-month campaign covers ordinary deposits and time deposits with maturities from three months to five years. In addition to standard yen interest, customers will receive exchange vouchers worth 20% of their interest payments, redeemable for Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), or XRP through SBI VC Trade, the crypto exchange operated by SBI Group. Customers must open an SBI VC Trade account to convert the vouchers into digital assets during a designated redemption period.
The move marks one of the few instances globally where a traditional bank embeds crypto rewards directly into a deposit product. SBI Shinsei Bank has approximately 4.33 million deposit accounts, potentially exposing millions to digital assets without their needing to purchase crypto on an exchange. The pilot is expected to transition into a permanent service by autumn 2026.
SBI Group has been aggressively expanding its crypto footprint. Earlier in 2026, it partnered with Visa and Aplus on a crypto rewards credit card that lets users earn Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP through everyday spending. In March, SBI VC Trade launched a retail USDC lending service, and in April it absorbed crypto exchange Bitpoint Japan. The group is also considering acquiring a stake in exchange Bitbank and plans to offer crypto-focused investment trusts and ETFs via SBI Securities. These moves reinforce SBI’s long-standing strategy of blending banking and digital assets, with XRP playing a particularly prominent role—SBI Holdings has consistently backed Ripple’s ecosystem and integrated XRP into multiple products.
For the crypto market, the initiative signals growing institutional acceptance and offers a low-friction on-ramp for first-time users. It may encourage other banks, especially in Japan—already a crypto-forward jurisdiction—to explore similar hybrid products.
