Ripple’s dollar-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, has officially entered the Japanese market after receiving approval from the country’s Financial Services Agency (JFSA). The regulator classified the token under a new category of electronic payment instrument within the Payment Services Act, a framework designed specifically for foreign-issued stablecoins meeting local standards.
Distribution will be handled by SBI VC Trade, a subsidiary of SBI Holdings and a registered provider of electronic payment instrument exchange services. Users can access RLUSD through the VCTRADE platform. The launch fulfills a memorandum of understanding signed in August 2025 and builds on a partnership between Ripple and SBI that dates back to 2016.
Jack McDonald, Ripple’s Senior Vice President of Stablecoins, emphasized that RLUSD will act “as a bridge for payments, tokenization, and collateral management,” connecting Japanese businesses and individuals to international dollar liquidity. Tomohiko Kondo, CEO of SBI VC Trade, called the launch “a major milestone” and foresaw expanded services around the token.
With a market capitalization between $1.6 billion and $1.7 billion, RLUSD remains far behind Tether’s USDT (≈$186 billion) and Circle’s USDC (≈$74 billion). Ripple positions RLUSD as an enterprise stablecoin for settlements, real-world asset tokenization, and supply chain finance, distinguishing it from the XRP token.
Japan enforces one of the strictest regulatory regimes for digital assets, making this approval a significant milestone for regulated stablecoin adoption in Asia.
