XRP Issuer Ripple Launches RLUSD in Japan Under $6,200 Transaction Cap

XRP News

Ripple’s dollar-pegged stablecoin RLUSD has officially launched in Japan after securing formal approval from the country’s Financial Services Agency (JFSA), handing XRP-issuer Ripple its first regulated foothold in Asia’s most advanced digital-asset market. The rollout runs through SBI VC Trade’s VCTRADE platform and serves both institutional and retail clients, fulfilling a strategic partnership the two firms signed in August 2025. RLUSD has been classified as a Type 4 Electronic Payment Instrument, the legal category Japan created for foreign-issued stablecoins. As an altcoin ecosystem long focused on cross-border settlement, Ripple now holds the first Asian jurisdiction to formally recognise RLUSD, a milestone for its XRP-centred network.

The token is structured for regulatory scrutiny rather than experimentation. Unlike algorithmic stablecoins that rely on code-enforced pegs, RLUSD is backed one-to-one by US dollar deposits, government treasuries and cash-equivalent assets, with reserves verified through monthly independent third-party audits. Custody of those reserves sits with BNY Mellon, one of the world’s largest custodian banks, reinforcing the institutional-grade positioning Ripple has emphasised. SBI VC Trade chief executive Tomohiko Kondo framed the launch as a milestone that “expands stablecoin choice in Japan” and accelerates the convergence of finance and digital technology. The combination of audited reserves and a regulated custodian is central to Ripple’s pitch against larger incumbents.

The Japanese version arrives with three notable constraints. First, each transaction is capped at roughly 1 million yen, or about $6,200, matching the standard ceiling for funds-transfer-type electronic payment instruments. Second, the launch supports only the Ethereum chain version of RLUSD, excluding the native XRP Ledger issuance for now. Third, the service spans both institutional and retail users through the existing VCTRADE platform. The official rollout also formalises a quieter distribution pilot that Ripple and SBI VC Trade began on 31 March 2026, converting a small-scale test into a publicly available product across the exchange’s user base.

RLUSD remains a challenger by scale. Since launching in late 2024, the stablecoin has grown to roughly $1.7 billion in market capitalisation over about 18 months, still far behind USDC at around $60 billion and USDT near $1,500 billion. On-chain data shows momentum building, however: monthly active addresses rose 17% while monthly transfer volume climbed 19% to about $3.5 billion. Circulation on the XRP Ledger has reached roughly $792 million, approaching the supply held on Ethereum. Ripple’s strategic edge lies in distribution rather than size, leaning on RippleNet and On-Demand Liquidity rails already deployed across more than 90 payment corridors.

The launch also creates a direct stablecoin corridor inside a single venue. Because SBI Group is simultaneously rolling out its trust-bank-backed yen stablecoin JPYSC, holding RLUSD and JPYSC on the same exchange opens a yen-to-dollar conversion channel that bypasses traditional intermediaries, functioning much like an on-chain atomic swap between fiat-pegged assets. Market observers argue the Japanese issuance is not merely a payments product but a lever for XRP liquidity, tying Ripple’s long-promised integration with real-world financial networks to a live institutional venue. The setup positions SBI as a hub where dollar and yen stablecoin settlement can coexist under one regulated roof.

RLUSD’s arrival is the third major development in Japan’s stablecoin race within a single week. On 23 June, SBI activated its JPYSC yen stablecoin; on 24 June, RLUSD won its JFSA approval, becoming the second dollar stablecoin cleared for circulation after USDC; and on 25 June, Circle — issuer of USDC and developer of the stablecoin-native Arc blockchain — outlined plans with Nomura to target a $440 billion intraday FX settlement market by 2027. The cluster follows a policy window that opened on 1 June 2026, when Japan began recognising foreign-issued stablecoins as legal electronic payment instruments, letting domestic and foreign tokens compete under one framework.

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