Japanese financial giant SBI Group has partnered with Chainlink, the leading blockchain oracle platform, to roll out a suite of crypto and blockchain-based financial tools. The collaboration begins in Japan and is set to expand across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, targeting banks, asset managers, and other financial institutions.
Tokenization and Onchain Verification
Under the deal, SBI and Chainlink will develop solutions for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) such as onchain bonds, and will leverage Chainlink’s technology to provide onchain verification of stablecoin reserves. These tools are expected to improve transparency, trust, and efficiency in financial markets.
Chainlink’s flagship blockchain interoperability protocol will also be deployed to enable foreign exchange settlements and cross-border transactions, areas that remain critical for institutional adoption.
Powering Stablecoins and Digital Assets
SBI highlighted that the partnership builds on years of collaboration with Chainlink, especially in stablecoin settlement use cases and fund tokenization. Chainlink’s data feeds will also be used to bring net asset value (NAV) data onchain for tokenized funds, ensuring real-time accuracy.
Sergey Nazarov, co-founder of Chainlink, said the partnership is moving towards “large-scale production usage” and emphasized the importance of enabling advanced tokenization in finance.
SBI Holdings CEO Yoshitaka Kitao added that both companies aim to support compliant cross-border transactions using stablecoins, helping accelerate digital asset adoption in Japan and the wider APAC market.
Japan Pushes Forward With Stablecoin Regulations
The partnership comes as Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) prepares to approve a yen-backed stablecoin for the first time, with fintech company JPYC leading the rollout. This regulatory green light is expected as early as next month and may further drive demand for regulated digital assets in the country.
SBI Expands Crypto Partnerships
SBI Group has been aggressively expanding its presence in blockchain finance. Just days before announcing the Chainlink deal, SBI revealed new partnerships with Circle Internet Group, issuer of USDC, as well as Ripple Labs and Web3 infrastructure firm Startale.
- With Ripple, SBI VC Trade aims to introduce Ripple USD (RLUSD) by March 2026.
- With Circle, SBI will promote the adoption of USDC across Japan’s financial markets.
- With Startale, SBI plans to build an onchain trading platform for tokenized stocks and RWAs, allowing 24/7 trading similar to platforms offered by Kraken and Robinhood.
The launch date and technical details of the Startale platform remain undisclosed, though Startale CEO Sota Watanabe noted that the technical architecture is not yet ready to be revealed.
Driving Asia’s Blockchain Finance Future
SBI’s latest collaboration with Chainlink signals a major step toward bringing blockchain interoperability, tokenization, and stablecoin infrastructure into mainstream finance across Asia. As Japan pushes forward with stablecoin regulation and tokenized trading, SBI and Chainlink are positioning themselves at the center of this transformation.
