In early 2026, SBI Holdings announced the issuance of blockchain bonds with a total scale of 10 billion yen, enhanced by XRP incentives, creating a new bridge between the Japanese capital market and crypto assets. This is a 3-year, fixed-rate bond that has been repackaged into a structured product with a "token airdrop feeling," seen as the latest example of the deep integration of RWA (Real World Asset tokenization) and crypto assets in Japan. Supporters believe that the design allowing an additional 200 yen equivalent XRP for every 100,000 yen invested is expected to attract incremental funds from retail investors interested in crypto assets; on the other hand, skeptics worry that binding the bond to a highly volatile token may amplify risk exposure under dual fluctuations of interest rates and token prices, turning this innovative experiment into a double-edged sword.
10 billion yen trial: Bond long tail plus token short-term incentives
● In terms of basic terms, this is a fixed-income bond with a term of 3 years, expected to mature on March 23, 2029, with an annual interest rate range locked between 1.85%–2.45%, providing cash returns to investors on a semi-annual interest payment schedule. For Japan's long-term low-interest environment, this level of coupon itself possesses certain attractiveness, and the additional hype of on-chain issuance makes this bond stand out among traditional products.
● The structure of XRP incentives is the core highlight of this design: For every investment of 100,000 yen, about 200 yen equivalent XRP can be awarded, essentially adding a layer of token "cashback" on top of the fixed rate. From the threshold perspective, a single investment needs to exceed 100,000 yen, ensuring the product targets investors with certain financial strength while creating an immediate reward feeling similar to an "airdrop" through XRP incentives. However, the specific distribution schedule, lock-up period, and whether it is linked to the holding period remain undisclosed by officials, preventing investors from assessing its long-term value.
● The scope of qualified investors is strictly limited to domestic Japan: only Japanese residents who have opened an SBI VC Trade account are eligible to subscribe to this on-chain bond. This setup ensures that the product fully conforms to Japan's existing regulatory framework and KYC system while locking participants into those who have certain knowledge of crypto assets and are willing to use crypto platforms, reflecting a clear target demographic orientation.
● Since the specific mechanics for XRP incentive distribution and future arrangements have not been publicly disclosed, the external party cannot ascertain whether equivalency standards will be maintained or adjusted over the next 3 years. Regarding the long-term sustainability of the incentive, whether it relates to the reward ratio, source, or market performance linkage currently, no quantitative projections or scenario assumptions can be made; any specific numbers regarding long-term yield increases fall into the realm of high-risk speculation.
From on-chain issuance to exchange listing: Japanese-style RWA pathway takes shape
● In terms of infrastructure selection, this bond utilizes BOOSTRY’s "ibet for Fin" platform for on-chain issuance, management, and settlement, migrating traditional bond registration, holder lists, coupon payments, and other processes into a permissioned blockchain environment. For investors, the product operates within a compliant framework, but the underlying system has shifted from paper or centralized databases to an on-chain system that allows for automation and tracking, providing a replicable technological pathway for more RWA products in the future.
● For liquidity arrangements, SBI plans to list the bond for trading on the Osaka Digital Exchange (ODX) in the START market starting March 25, 2026, switching the bond from a traditional form of "one-time issuance, held to maturity" to a tokenized asset that can circulate in a compliant digital exchange secondary market. Investors can not only receive coupon payments and XRP rewards during their holding period but also choose to sell or buy early when market conditions change, forming a more flexible risk management and asset allocation combination.
● The bond’s registration institution is indicated to be Mizuho Bank, a detail currently sourced from a single source that still requires further cross-verification. Nevertheless, it is certain that this product structure includes roles for both large traditional banks and tech companies focused on blockchain infrastructure, reflecting Japan's tendency to lead RWA initiatives through existing financial systems rather than completely relying on crypto-native enterprises.
● Under Japan's overall compliance framework, this XRP incentive on-chain bond showcases an RWA development sample characterized by "regulatory control, deep institutional participation, and technological underpinnings on-chain": issuance and investor suitability are bound by local laws, registration and settlement are handled by licensed financial institutions and compliant platforms, while crypto incentives are limited within specific account systems. This combination of "regulation as the framework, blockchain as the texture, and tokens as the seasoning" provides a certain demonstration effect for other markets seeking to promote RWA but fear a regulatory vacuum.
From interest to token airdrop feeling: How XRP reshapes yield perception
● Compared to traditional fixed-rate bonds, this product adds a layer of XRP rewards on top of 1.85%–2.45% annual coupon + semi-annual interest payments, effectively shifting part of the expected return from "certain cash flow" to "highly volatile tokens." This hybrid structure means that investors, when calculating total return, must consider not only the simple coupon and price difference but also the price trajectory of XRP during the holding period, significantly "financializing" the yield structure.
● For Japanese retail investors, the compliant bond market and crypto spot trading have always been two relatively parallel tracks. This product connects the user pools at both ends by requiring an SBI VC Trade account and providing XRP rewards: for investors who originally only buy bonds and do not touch crypto, it serves as a passive "trial" of crypto assets; for those who only engage in trading at exchanges, it offers a new way to participate in traditional fixed income while enjoying token incentives in a familiar environment, potentially attracting more attention and funds to the compliant bond market.
● However, binding the bond to XRP price volatility inevitably introduces additional risk exposure for holders: when XRP rises, the reward value is magnified, and overall returns may be significantly improved; conversely, during downturns, the same reward may be eroded to negligible amounts or even become a psychological burden. More critically, this "implicit option" linked to price may lead some investors to focus more on speculative token appreciation rather than entirely assessing interest rate risks or credit risks, altering the risk perception structure of bond products.
● Currently, there are no publicly reliable data regarding the actual number of participants, subscription scale structure, or regional distribution of this XRP incentive bond. Out of prudence, it is impossible to project or estimate the investor composition, influx of capital, or whether it is "hot-selling", nor can we reverse infer the subscription heat from scattered comments on the market to avoid creating false market signals in the absence of evidence.
Highlights amid chaos: Emotional context reflected in security incidents and institutional reallocations
● Extending the timeline to the entire crypto market, a series of risk events have occurred recently: IoTeX's cross-chain bridge ioTube was hacked for about 4.4 million dollars, forcing the team to propose a white-hat bounty program; concurrently, some whale addresses transferred large amounts of ETH to exchanges, combined with Vitalik Buterin's cumulative sale of 10,723 ETH, cashing out about 21.74 million dollars, creating a tense atmosphere that "core assets may be under pressure." In this environment, investors are particularly sensitive to on-chain security and whale movements.
● On the exchange level, Binance plans to delist ALCX and related trading pairs on February 26, 2026, while Ondo Finance transferred about 24.475 million ONDO to Coinbase, valued at about 6.12 million dollars, reflecting the reallocation and structural adjustment of funds among different platforms and assets. On one side is the liquidity contraction of small and medium projects being delisted, while on the other side is the concentration increase around a few narrative hotspots and leading platforms, highlighting the market's characteristic of "removing the fake to keep the real" but with an overall decline in risk appetite.
● Contrasting these fluctuations, Crypto.com received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank, marking an acceleration in the global shift of crypto platforms towards licensed financial institutions. This move reflects with Japan's push for on-chain bonds and involvement of major banks like Mizuho in RWA issuance: whether in the East or West, the main line is to operate crypto-related businesses under stricter regulations and higher entry barriers.
● It is particularly counter-cyclical that, amidst the chaotic backdrop of "frequent security incidents, strengthening of leading institutions, and continuous regulatory tightening," SBI chose to launch a compliant on-chain bond + XRP incentive structured product: it leverages the narrative enthusiasm of crypto assets while relying on local financial licenses and regulatory frameworks, wrapping the innovation in the familiar guise of bonds. This creates a differentiated competitive logic in a declining risk appetite market—not to recreate an unlicensed CeFi platform but to embed crypto elements into the existing financial system's framework.
Traditional banks and crypto platforms share the stage: A model of collaboration for Japanese RWA
● From the structure of participants, this product involves collaboration from SBI, Mizuho, Osaka Digital Exchange, BOOSTRY, and SBI VC Trade: SBI handles product design and overall issuance, Mizuho as the registration institution ensures clarity and compliance on the traditional financial side; BOOSTRY provides "ibet for Fin" as the on-chain foundation, while Osaka Digital Exchange offers a regulatory-approved trading venue for subsequent secondary circulation, and SBI VC Trade takes on the role of investor interface and XRP incentive distribution as a crypto platform. This combination of "large banks + exchanges + on-chain infrastructure + crypto subsidiaries" builds a multi-layered ecosystem for Japanese-style RWA.
● By comparing with Crypto.com's path to being approved as a national trust bank in the U.S., two different integration approaches are observable: one is the way Crypto.com, as a crypto-native platform, climbs towards traditional finance by obtaining licensing to bank itself; the other is Japan's model this time—led by a traditional financial group, embedding on-chain issuance and token incentives as product modules under the existing licensing structure. This means, in Japan, licenses and infrastructure are more in the hands of traditional institutions, while product innovation lies in how to mix crypto elements within regulatory boundaries.
● From an institutional perspective, Japan's institutional advantage in the RWA track lies in: relatively stable regulatory expectations, high cooperation between financial groups and licensed exchanges, and allowance for asset tokenization experiments on permissioned chains; yet constraints are equally apparent—strict limitations on the scope of investors, high barriers for cross-border promotion, and a conservative regulatory interpretation of incentive structures and token characteristics. This makes Japan's RWA resemble a "highly regulated experimental field," suitable for gradual innovation by large institutions rather than radical unlicensed experiments.
● Once XRP incentive on-chain bonds like SBI's receive market acceptance, it is easy to foresee that more brokerages and banks may attempt similar "tokenized bonds + crypto incentives" combinations, designing diverse reward structures around different public chain assets or ecosystem tokens. Under the gradually clarifying compliance framework, this model is expected to become one of the toolboxes for Japanese financial institutions to attract younger investors and connect with Web3 communities, driving dual upgrades in forms and channels of traditional bond businesses.
XRP bonds are just the beginning: Where is the next stop for Japanese RWA?
● Overall, SBI's XRP incentive bond provides a relatively complete Japanese version answer in terms of product design, underlying infrastructure, and compliance pathway: one is to reconstruct the yield curve using fixed coupon + token rewards; the second is to create an on-chain closed loop from issuance to secondary circulation relying on "ibet for Fin" + Osaka Digital Exchange; the third is to conduct strict investor screening within the Japanese resident + licensed account system, firmly placing innovation under regulatory scrutiny and accumulating samples for further RWA products.
● For XRP itself, this bond will not directly alter its global supply-demand landscape, but it provides a new narrative story of "being included in structured product incentives by large Japanese financial groups"; regarding the participation of Japanese retail investors, it opens a new channel between the compliant bond and crypto trading; and for the local RWA market, it is an expansion attempt of "starting from bonds, breaking barriers with token incentives," warming up for more complex tokenized asset structures in the future. Whether Japan's RWA will truly take off depends on whether the market is willing to accept this yield enhancement model carrying token price risks.
● Uncertainty is also clearly visible: how regulators continue to view the embedding of highly volatile tokens in fixed-income products, whether XRP incentives can be maintained or optimized over a 3-year period, and the inverse effects of overall crypto market volatility on investor risk appetite and product sustainability will all determine the lifespan and replication speed of this model. In the absence of public details and long-term data, any precise forecasts regarding future issuance scale, yield levels, or number of participants would be irresponsible speculation.
● From a longer-term perspective, if such products gain a foothold in Japan, the next step will likely involve more assets linked, cross-border issuance, and larger scale RWA combinations: for instance, integrating multiple token incentives, tokenization solutions for specific industry bonds or green bonds, and even exploring cross-border versions for overseas qualified investors under regulatory allowances. SBI's XRP bond may just be the prologue to Japan's RWA advancement script, with the real main event kicking off when more institutions join and more assets go on-chain.
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