Japan’s SBI plans the country’s first USDC listing

The group of companies is now laying the groundwork for a “full-scale introduction of stablecoins”

10.02.2025 - 09:45

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3 min

What’s new? Japanese securities giant SBI has recorded record cryptocurrency-related profits and also revealed plans to be the first to list USD Coin (USDC) in the country.

The company said it continues to work with regulators as well as Circle, the US operator of USDC. Japanese crypto exchanges are still waiting for regulators to authorize them to start listing USD-pegged stablecoins. Following the November 2023 agreement with Circle, SBI is seeking permission to start offering USDC pairs in Japan.

SBI Holdings chairman and CEO Yoshitaka Kitao said the group is now laying the groundwork for the “full-scale introduction of stablecoins in Japan.” Kitao noted that recent changes to the Payment Services Act should allow Japanese crypto exchanges to enter the stablecoin market.

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What else is known? According to an official announcement from SBI Group and a report from Japanese-language media outlet CoinPost, the firm has also announced plans to expand its cryptocurrency offerings. In its consolidated financial results for the third quarter of the current fiscal year, SBI announced revenue of about 62,8 billion Japanese yen from its crypto business units, an increase of 103,5% from the previous year. The company also reported a pre-tax profit of about 18,1 billion yen ($119,6 million), an increase of 787% from the third quarter of fiscal 2023.

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What is known about SBI? The firm operates crypto exchanges SBI VC Trade and BITPoint, crypto mining firm SBI Crypto, UK-based liquidity provider and market maker B2C2, and Tokyo-based blockchain firm HashHub.

SBI said “revitalized” crypto markets helped support growth on crypto exchange platforms. It also recorded that the number of accounts on SBI VC Trade and BITpoint grew by 15,3% quarter-on-quarter. The combined revenue of SBI VC Trade and BITPoint Japan is projected to exceed 600 billion yen ($3,96 million) in the current quarter.

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