Japan’s financial regulator has approved Ripple’s U.S. dollar–backed RLUSD stablecoin as a new category of payment instrument, allowing SBI VC Trade to offer it to both institutional and retail users. Despite the milestone, RLUSD remains relatively small, with a market value of about $1.7 billion.
Ripple’s RLUSD has officially been cleared for use in Japan, marking its entry into one of Asia’s most tightly regulated crypto markets after receiving approval from the country’s financial authorities.
The Japan Financial Services Agency has designated RLUSD as a new type of electronic payment instrument under the Payment Services Act, a framework created for foreign-issued stablecoins that meet Japan’s regulatory standards.
Stablecoins are digital assets designed to maintain a stable value, typically pegged to fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar. In Japan, RLUSD will be made available through SBI VC Trade, the digital asset arm of SBI, for both institutional and retail investors.
Japan’s strict regulatory environment makes approval for a foreign-issued stablecoin a notable achievement, especially for products targeting both retail and institutional adoption.
However, RLUSD’s scale remains modest. Ripple says the token has reached around $1.7 billion in market capitalization since launching in late 2024, far below market leaders like USDT at roughly $186 billion and USDC at around $74 billion.
The rollout builds on a memorandum of understanding signed by Ripple and SBI in August 2025 and extends a partnership that began in 2016 focused on cross-border payments and blockchain infrastructure in Asia.
Ripple executive Jack McDonald said RLUSD is designed to act as a bridge for payments, tokenization, and collateral management, helping connect Japanese firms to global dollar liquidity.
RLUSD is Ripple’s regulated stablecoin offering and is separate from XRP, the company’s native token. It is primarily aimed at enterprise use cases such as settlements and asset tokenization.
The Japan launch reflects Ripple’s broader strategy to expand in regulated stablecoin markets as jurisdictions like the U.S. and Europe move toward clearer digital asset frameworks.
Even so, RLUSD faces strong competition. While regulatory approval boosts its credibility, it still needs to achieve significantly greater scale and liquidity to challenge dominant stablecoins like USDT and USDC.
