Solana Foundation Takes Stake in SBI Venture to Build Japan Onchain Market

Solana to support tokenized Japanese financial products

SBI Solana Global plans to structure, tokenize and distribute several categories of real-world assets through Solana-based infrastructure.

The venture also plans to provide onchain financial services for institutional investors. Banks, asset managers, financial institutions, corporations and professional investors are expected to be central users of the planned infrastructure.

Cross-border payment and settlement systems are another part of the roadmap. The companies intend to build infrastructure that can connect Japanese financial assets and payment products with overseas markets rather than confining the platform to domestic transactions.

The Solana Foundation’s equity participation makes the relationship broader than a technical integration agreement. The Foundation will have a direct corporate position in a venture that combines Solana infrastructure with SBI’s financial businesses and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group’s institutional presence.

Financial products and supporting systems created through the venture are expected to use the Solana blockchain. The companies did not state whether those products will operate directly on Solana’s public mainnet, through permissioned systems linked to Solana or through a hybrid structure.

Venture includes payments designed for AI agents

SBI Solana Global also plans to develop payment infrastructure for AI agents, placing programmable machine-driven payments within the same strategy as tokenized securities, stablecoins and institutional settlement.

The inclusion of AI-agent payments broadens the planned platform beyond traditional token issuance. SBI Solana Global is expected to support both human-operated financial activity and automated software systems using blockchain-based payment rails.

SBI Holdings and the Solana Foundation said the initiative will combine Japan’s financial ecosystem and regulatory advantages with Solana’s blockchain technology. The stated goal is to establish Japan as a regional hub for onchain finance.

Initial issuers for tokenized corporate bonds, commercial paper, investment funds and real estate were not identified. Custody providers, trustees, reserve managers, compliance firms, identity-verification services and settlement providers were also not named.

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SBI expands institutional crypto infrastructure

The Solana partnership forms part of SBI’s broader effort to build exchange, tokenization and market infrastructure across its digital-asset businesses.

An SBI spokesperson said: “In the onchain space, our goal is to provide a comprehensive range of functions — from exchanges to asset tokenization to market platforms. Our recent acquisitions, investments, and partnerships are all part of this group-wide strategy.”

Recent transactions have added exposure to decentralized-finance risk management, institutional crypto trading and domestic exchange infrastructure.

SBI was the sole investor in the Gauntlet and EDX Markets Series C rounds, which together raised $201 million. Including the agreed Bitbank acquisition, the three disclosed transactions represent close to $490 million in recent investment and acquisition value.

Gauntlet adds decentralized-finance risk-management capabilities, while EDX Markets adds institutional trading exposure and Bitbank expands SBI’s domestic exchange infrastructure. SBI Solana Global is expected to connect those broader capabilities with tokenized assets, settlement systems and Solana-based financial products.

JPYSC supports the wider Solana strategy

Stablecoins are one component of the new venture rather than the sole focus. SBI Solana Global plans to support the issuance and distribution of stablecoins, including SBI’s yen-denominated JPYSC.

JPYSC was launched less than one month before the partnership announcement and was presented as Japan’s first trust bank-backed yen stablecoin. SBI said the token is intended for retail and corporate users, with lower transaction costs and support for block trades.

SBI separately announced that SBI VC Trade will open applications on July 16, 2026, for a 12-week JPYSC lending product initially offering a 3% annual yield.

The announced rate is annualized rather than a full return for the fixed period. Holding JPYSC alone does not generate that yield; users must participate in the SBI VC Trade lending arrangement.

The lending product’s minimum deposit, maximum deposit, total subscription capacity, early-withdrawal conditions, counterparty structure and treatment of principal were not disclosed.

Japan’s three megabanks—MUFG, SMBC and Mizuho—also announced in June 2026 that they plan to begin live commercial transactions using a jointly issued stablecoin during fiscal year 2026.

Lawson, Japan’s third-largest convenience-store chain, is separately preparing a test of JPYC payments at one store. JPYC was identified as Japan’s first legally recognized yen-backed stablecoin, while JPYSC was presented as the first trust bank-backed yen stablecoin.