SBI Holdings partners with Solana to build Japan's crypto financial market

SBI Holdings has announced in a press statement on July 13 that the Solana Foundation will buy into SBI R3 Japan. This joint venture will be renamed SBI Solana Global and used to move Japanese stablecoins, digital assets, and cross-border payments onto the Solana blockchain.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG), one of Japan’s largest banking groups, will stay on as a shareholder alongside SBI and the incoming Solana Foundation.

SBI Solana Global builds on the Solana network

SBI R3 Japan will change its name to SBI Solana Global Co., Ltd. on a provisional basis, subject to the required corporate process. The new venture has laid out five business interests, all built on the Solana network.

The renamed company will invest in stablecoins, including the yen-denominated JPYSC. The venture will also cover tokenized RWAs, which will involve corporate bonds, commercial paper, investment funds and real estate.

The Solana SBI partnership is also aiming at cross-border settlement infrastructure, on-chain services aimed at institutional investors, and payment structures for what SBI called the era of AI agents, according to the statement.

SBI’s vision with the venture is a single operator handling issuance, distribution and settlement altogether, instead of only supplying the blockchain platform.

Japan seen as doorway into Asia

SBI said it wants to make Japan “a core hub for on-chain finance in Asia,” after which the company would extend the products across Asian and international markets.

It is worth noting that the announcement carried no revenue forecasts and no client commitments. The partners also did not name any particular overseas markets or banking partners, and they did not disclose how much the Solana Foundation is paying for its stake.

Live products will still need to clear Japan’s crypto rules as stablecoins, securities, and market operations each fall under local regulation.

SBI pushes further into digital assets

The Solana partnership is part of an expanding SBI program. SBI and Startale built a regulated yen stablecoin for payments and settlement in March, and the company worked with Ripple to bring the dollar-backed RLUSD stablecoin to Japan through SBI VC Trade after regulatory approval. SBI also remains Ripple’s largest partner in the country.

SBI is also moving to buy Bitbank, an established Japanese exchange, in a transaction valued at 46.7 billion yen. It is not known if Bitbank or SBI VC Trade will distribute SBI Solana Global’s products.

Why has SBI chosen Solana?

For the Solana Foundation, the deal adds an institutional finance partner in an Asian country as activity on the network increases. Solana had a record past quarter where it logged $5.77 billion in tokenized-asset spot volume and processed more than one billion weekly transactions.

Solana’s SOL token traded at about $76.35 as at the time of writing.

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