SBI Holdings, a longstanding partner of Ripple, has announced plans for a joint venture with CRB Group to expand digital finance capabilities in Japan. The proposed partnership centers on three main areas: tokenizing real-world assets, developing cross-border payment solutions, and building AI-driven financial infrastructure.
The joint venture would focus on creating and distributing tokenized real-world assets such as loan receivables, while also developing cross-border payment solutions leveraging both organizations' banking and payment systems. A third component involves agentic commerce, where artificial intelligence agents can execute transactions through specialized payment platforms.
Cross River Bank, a subsidiary of CRB Group, brings experience in embedded finance, lending, payments, and digital asset infrastructure to the partnership. SBI also plans to make a strategic investment in CRB Group as part of the arrangement.
SBI is considering adding its stablecoin JPYSC—developed in partnership with Startale Group—to the platform to facilitate institutional settlements, cross-border transfers, and tokenized asset transfers. The company currently operates crypto exchanges including SBI VC Trade in Japan and Coinhako in Singapore.
The initiatives remain subject to final agreements, regulatory approvals, and appropriate licensing. While SBI's partnership with Ripple has kept XRP in focus among investors, the new collaboration does not specify XRP involvement or confirm that the token will be part of the planned services. Any impact on XRP would depend on future projects involving direct integration with Ripple's payment technology or the XRP Ledger.
