BlackRock, SBI and Startale explore linking tokenized funds with Japan yen stablecoin

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BlackRock, SBI link to yen stablecoin

Highlights

BlackRock, SBI, and Startale signed an MoU to explore integrating tokenized money market funds and yen stablecoin JPYSC in Japan's onchain finance market.
The initiative examines technology, business models, and regulatory infrastructure to connect tokenized assets with stablecoins, leveraging Japan's stablecoin legal framework adopted in 2022.
BlackRock's BUIDL, holding about $2.17 billion in assets, and SBI's JPYSC, launched in June 2024, will serve as key products in the collaborative project.

Partnership scope and integration plans

As reported by The Block, the three companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to study how tokenized money market funds and JPYSC can work together within Japan's emerging onchain finance market.

The partners say they are examining the project across three areas, technology and infrastructure, business and distribution, and regulation and market development. That includes assessing the technical requirements needed for integration, as well as potential business models and distribution channels that could be built through their existing networks and market access.

The collaboration is also intended to remain open to a broader group of financial institutions and businesses in Japan and overseas. SBI Holdings Chairman and President Yoshitaka Kitao says the shift to onchain finance is becoming an unavoidable global trend and that Japan needs to prepare early if it wants to lead the next phase of financial market development.

Regulatory backdrop and market implications

Japan put in place its legal framework for stablecoins in 2022 through amendments to the Payment Services Act, with the rules taking effect a year later. The framework defines fiat-backed stablecoins as Electronic Payment Instruments and restricts issuance to licensed banks, trust companies and registered money transfer service providers.

Against that backdrop, the companies say the next step is to build the infrastructure, distribution channels and regulatory frameworks needed to connect tokenized assets with stablecoins and support wider market adoption. The initiative links BlackRock's growing tokenized fund business with SBI's domestic stablecoin effort at a time when institutions are testing how traditional assets can move on blockchain-based rails.

BlackRock launched its tokenized fund BUIDL in 2024, and it has grown into one of the largest products in the segment with about $2.17 billion in U.S. Treasurys, overnight repos and cash under management. SBI and Startale launched JPYSC in June this year as Japan's first trust bank-backed yen stablecoin, with SBI Shinsei Trust Bank handling issuance and SBI VC Trade overseeing distribution.

Our earlier article on Philippine bond-market reforms examined plans to adopt a new pricing convention for peso government bonds and pursue inclusion in J.P. Morgan’s Government Bond Index-EM, moves aimed at improving comparability, liquidity and foreign participation. It also stressed that market modernization alone is not enough: lasting gains depend on fiscal credibility, stronger market infrastructure and regulation, and wider structural reforms that help channel capital into productive investment.

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