Japan's SBI Group and South Korea's Kyobo Life Insurance have completed a proof-of-concept project demonstrating direct cross-border stablecoin transfers between Japanese yen (JPY) and Korean won (KRW) stablecoins. The initiative began in July using Canton Network as the test environment.
The pilot verified direct exchange between yen and won stablecoins without requiring conversion to US dollars. Previously, cross-border transactions between the two currencies necessitated converting yen to dollars first, then to won, adding time and transaction costs to the process.
Both firms validated the direct conversion process using test tokens and confirmed that the model could reduce settlement time, costs, and exchange rate risks for institutional fund transfers. The project also demonstrated an operational framework for safely handling digital assets transferred internationally and their associated domestic settlement funds.
SBI Group has partnered with Ripple since 2016 and holds a 9% stake in the blockchain payments firm. The two companies recently collaborated to launch RLUSD stablecoin in Japan. Ripple and Kyobo announced a separate partnership earlier to pilot tokenized Korean government bond settlement on Ripple Custody and assess stablecoin payment infrastructure.
Looking ahead, SBI and Kyobo plan to expand cooperation in the Web3 ecosystem, including exploring digital asset exchanges, asset management services, and new business models based on transaction structures between the two countries.
