Japan clears Ripple RLUSD stablecoin for institutions

Japan’s financial regulator has approved Ripple’s U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, for use by both institutions and retail customers, marking a significant entry into one of Asia’s most tightly regulated cryptocurrency markets. The Japan Financial Services Agency cleared RLUSD as a Type 4 electronic payment instrument under the country’s Payment Services Act, a category for foreign-issued stablecoins that meet Japanese standards.

The stablecoin will be distributed through the VCTRADE platform operated by SBI VC Trade, the digital asset arm of Japanese financial group SBI Holdings. The launch fulfills a memorandum of understanding the two firms signed in August 2025 and builds on a partnership dating to 2016. Ripple’s senior vice president of stablecoins, Jack McDonald, stated that RLUSD will serve as a bridge for payments, tokenization, and collateral management, connecting Japanese businesses to global dollar liquidity.

However, the approval comes with notable conditions. The only RLUSD tokens accepted for deposit in Japan are those issued on the Ethereum blockchain, not on Ripple’s own XRP Ledger. Additionally, transactions are capped at one million yen, approximately...