SBI Digital Practice and Kyobo Life have completed a cross-border pilot program that directly converted yen-linked test tokens into won-linked tokens, eliminating the need to route transactions through the U.S. dollar. The companies disclosed the trial on September 17 after examining the full process for transferring, exchanging, settling, and holding digital tokens across borders.
The project, which began in July, tested a direct conversion between tokens modeled on yen- and won-denominated stablecoins. According to Kyobo Life, the structure moved value from Japan to South Korea without first converting yen into dollars and then converting those dollars into won. Kyobo described the trial as the first case in South Korea's insurance industry to verify the entire cross-border transfer, exchange, and settlement process for institutional funds.
Technical Structure and Results
The demonstration used test tokens rather than commercially issued stablecoins and ran in a Canton Network test environment. SBI Digital Practice, a wholly owned subsidiary of SBI Holdings, sent the yen-linked token from Japan, while Kyobo received the resulting token in South Korea following cross-border exchange and settlement.
Kyobo reported that the pilot confirmed the technical feasibility of shorter processing times, lower intermediary conversion costs, and real-time transaction tracking. Traditional Japan-Korea transfers typically pass through multiple financial institutions and international payment networks, increasing conversion and settlement steps. These results represent the companies' assessment of a controlled test rather than commercial performance data.
Broader Institutional Settlement Efforts
The trial arrives as SBI expands work on regulated digital currencies and institutional settlement. JPYSC, an SBI-backed yen stablecoin launched in June, targets corporate treasury activity, high-volume settlement, cross-border payments, and tokenized assets. The Kyobo pilot used a test asset separate from this commercial initiative.
South Korean financial institutions are also evaluating blockchain systems for foreign exchange settlement without routing transactions through major intermediary currencies. A separate project involving Chainlink and more than 10 Korean lenders is examining direct stablecoin-based foreign exchange settlement, reflecting wider institutional efforts to shorten settlement cycles and reduce exposure from delayed transactions.
Future Development Plans
SBI Digital Practice and Kyobo plan to explore further cooperation in digital asset conversion, overseas investment, asset management, and tokenized-asset transfers. Kyobo also tested procedures for receiving, storing, and managing digital assets and related settlement funds in South Korea. The companies expect that work to support future financial operations if the necessary legal frameworks and market infrastructure develop.
