In a recent development that underscores Japan’s deepening integration with blockchain technology, SBI Holdings revealed it holds a 9% stake in Ripple Labs — a revelation that left U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent visibly stunned. With both nations exploring tighter financial collaboration amid shifting global liquidity trends, Ripple’s role at the center of this alliance raises new possibilities for cross-border finance. At stake: the future of global payments, digital dollar dominance, and the unspoken rivalry between U.S. innovations and Asia’s fast-tracking fintech.
SBI’s Quiet Power Play Shocks Officials in Washington
During a recent earnings call, SBI CEO Yoshitaka Kitao told U.S. Treasury representatives that the Japanese financial giant now owns 9% of Ripple Labs — making it the largest external shareholder. Secretary Bessent’s reaction was telling: “That’s huge,” he said, signaling Washington’s surprise at Tokyo’s strategic positioning within one of blockchain’s most critical infrastructure companies.
While Ripple has long been more warmly received in Asia than in the U.S., this revelation brings a sharp focus to how U.S. regulatory overreach may have left the door open for international players to seize influence. In Japan, Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) technology is already integrated in several bank systems via the SBI Ripple Asia joint venture — giving Tokyo a growing soft power tool in the fintech landscape.
Can Ripple Become the Infrastructure for U.S.-Asia Capital Flows?
With Japan and the U.S. now tied in deeper trade negotiations, the facilitation of capital movement is no longer merely a technology issue; it’s rapidly becoming a national interest imperative. Ripple’s ODL service, which eliminates the need for traditional correspondent banking by enabling real-time settlements, has the potential to remove billions from dormancy in nostro/vostro accounts.
According to insiders, Secretary Bessent has privately acknowledged that the adoption of efficient cross-border payment rails is essential for maintaining the U.S. dollar’s global role. As Japanese capital seeks U.S. equity and bond exposure, infrastructure like Ripple becomes the invisible bridge. No wonder Treasury officials are now taking meetings with SBI executives — what was once fringe finance is now geopolitical plumbing.
Stablecoins and U.S. Dollar Strategy: RLUSD Enters the Scene
The timing of SBI and Ripple’s announcement of the RLUSD stablecoin — pegged to the U.S. dollar — is as strategic as it is symbolic. Japan is not just adopting blockchain; it’s integrating dollar-backed stablecoins into its financial framework. A memorandum of understanding signals intent to distribute RLUSD widely in the region, potentially strengthening dollar liquidity flows without relying on traditional clearing houses.
This aligns with Treasury advisor Bessent’s recent remarks on the importance of stablecoins in defending U.S. dollar supremacy, especially as digital currencies issued by state actors (like China’s e-CNY) rise. A stablecoin backed by Ripple’s proven liquidity model could function as a de facto dollar proxy in Asia, reinforcing American economic influence via blockchain rails — a metric few traditional economists are modeling, but one crypto professionals have long foreseen.
Tokenized Treasuries and the Merging of Markets
There are also whispers from Tokyo and Washington that tokenized U.S. Treasuries could run on Ripple infrastructure. For institutions like SBI, which possess both blockchain maturity and deep capital reserves, the idea of streaming interest-bearing instruments in real time through tokenized wrappers is more than theory — it’s on the lab bench. Combining this with stablecoins creates a two-layered system: one for liquidity, another for yield — both borderless, both programmable.
In such a system, capital doesn’t just move faster. It behaves differently, bypassing friction that has historically limited the scale of transnational retail and institutional engagement with U.S. financial products. For the Treasury, this isn’t just fintech — it’s fiscal strategy.
