Japan's SBI Shinsei Bank to offer crypto rewards for deposits scheme

Japan’s SBI Shinsei Bank is planning a new program geared at giving its customers vouchers redeemable for cryptocurrency after they complete deposits, turning one of Japan’s largest banks into a possible crypto on-ramp for millions of customers saving money with the bank starting June 10.

The program, first reported by Nikkei, offers vouchers worth 20% of the interest earned on specific eligible accounts. Customers can then redeem those vouchers for Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) or Ripple (XRP) through SBI VC Trade, the group’s licensed cryptocurrency exchange.

What is the program’s makeup?

According to the program’s details from SBI Shinsei, customers will keep their principal in yen in the bank and continue to collect standard interest on these savings. In addition, the bank will issue a voucher pegged to one-fifth of the interest payment, converted at the market price of the particular cryptocurrency being disbursed on the day interest is paid, according to Yahoo Finance.

The crypto exposure is small in actual terms, as SBI Shinsei’s top-tier Hyper Deposit rate sits around 0.42% annually. This means the voucher represents a fraction of a fraction, but the point of the program is primarily access rather than yield.

Participation requires a linked account at SBI VC Trade, and the bank plans to run an initial three-month pilot covering both ordinary and time deposits. A total of almost 4.33 million deposit accounts are eligible and could qualify for the program, with SBI Shinsei intending to make the service permanent if demand is justified.

Why has SBI Shinsei launched this program?

This program seems to be part of a wider strategy directed toward digital assets across SBI Holdings. The firm’s cryptocurrency exchange, SBI VC Trade, launched a retail USDC lending product in March, structured as a fixed-term loan to the exchange rather than a traditional bank deposit.

In May, SBI also said it was exploring buying some shares in trading platform Bitbank, one month after SBI VC Trade acquired rival exchange Bitpoint Japan.

SBI Holdings, a longstanding investor in Ripple through their joint venture SBI Ripple Asia, also has a history of distributing XRP as shareholder dividends and promotional bonuses, according to Ledger Insights. In March, the group issued a digital bond aimed at retail investors that paid XRP tokens as a bonus through SBI VC Trade accounts.

The group’s securities arm, SBI Securities, is also preparing crypto-focused investment trusts and ETFs tied to BTC and ETH. A subsidiary of SBI Shinsei Bank, Aplus, began issuing Visa cards in May that accumulate cryptocurrency rewards.

SBI has also operated in the crypto mining business through SBI Crypto since 2017 and acquired institutional market maker B2C2 in 2020, offering the company infrastructure across trading and liquidity.

Can U.S. banks emulate this model?

Japan regulates crypto under its Payment Services Act, with the Financial Services Agency licensing exchanges directly. This structure allows a bank to connect a directly affiliated exchange to its own deposits without breaching any banking laws.

This framework is markedly different from the United States’ current setup, with the GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025, stopping stablecoin issuers from paying yield to their holders. An assessment from the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee also estimated that about $6.6 trillion in U.S. transactional deposits could face pressure if crypto products offered competitive returns.

The pending CLARITY Act bill, widely supported by crypto exchanges and firms but antagonized by U.S. banks and financial institutions, would further restrict yield on stablecoins from service providers and their affiliated companies.

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