Tokyo-based SBI VC Trade has opened applications for a new lending product that lets users earn yield on a yen-denominated stablecoin, JPYSC. The service will accept JPYSC deposits starting Thursday and lend them for a fixed 12-week term, advertising an annualized rate of 3% and a gross return of roughly 0.69% over the period, before taxes, according to an SBI VC Trade press release.
While the yield is positioned as higher than typical bank rates for yen deposits cited by SBI, the structure is not treated as a traditional deposit product. The company also warns that the tokens lent out are not protected by deposit insurance and could be partially or fully lost if the lender faces bankruptcy.
Key takeaways
- SBI VC Trade is launching a 12-week JPYSC lending program with an advertised 3% annualized rate.
- Gross return over the term is estimated at ~0.69% (before tax), based on the stated annualized yield.
- Not a bank deposit: the product is not covered by deposit insurance and cannot be canceled early.
- No statutory asset segregation: customers’ lent tokens could be exposed in the event of bankruptcy.
- Broader push: the launch follows SBI’s recent trust-structured yen stablecoin rollout and a new partnership aimed at expanding onchain finance infrastructure.
How the JPYSC lending service is structured
SBI VC Trade’s new offering is designed around a straightforward mechanism. Users will lend their JPYSC tokens to SBI VC Trade’s business and, at maturity, receive the tokens back along with a lending fee, the company said in its Monday announcement.
At the advertised rate, the company estimates a gross return of about 0.69% for a 12-week lending window, before tax. SBI additionally framed the product as offering more than the 0.325% to 1% annual range that it cited for ordinary yen deposits.
Even so, SBI is clear that this arrangement is not equivalent to holding yen in a bank account. The tokens are lent rather than deposited, the service is not covered by deposit insurance, and early cancellation is not generally available. The release further notes that the JPYSC lent to SBI VC Trade will fall outside statutory asset segregation requirements.
For users, that distinction is critical: if the company were to go bankrupt, customers could lose some or all of their tokens. In other words, the product introduces stablecoin-credit risk even though it is marketed as a yield-bearing use case for a yen-backed instrument.
Why SBI is moving stablecoins toward yield
The application opening comes shortly after SBI unveiled its trust-structured yen stablecoin, introduced on June 24. With regulated stablecoins in Japan increasingly expanding from payments toward interest-bearing applications, SBI VC Trade is effectively adding a yield layer that can make holding JPYSC more attractive than leaving funds idle.
SBI VC Trade previously launched lending services in Japan for Circle’s USDC in March, allowing retail customers to lend the dollar-denominated stablecoin in exchange for passive yield. In the new program, SBI is extending the same concept to a yen-denominated stablecoin.
From an investor and user perspective, this is part of a broader shift in stablecoin utility: rather than viewing stablecoins solely as a payment rail, issuers and platforms are pushing toward them functioning as productive onchain capital. However, these products also tend to shift risk from price volatility toward counterparty and legal-structure risk—particularly when segregation and insolvency protections are not aligned with deposit-like expectations.
Solana partnership expands SBI’s onchain ambitions
SBI’s stablecoin lending push is occurring alongside plans to scale the infrastructure behind its onchain activities. Separately from the JPYSC lending product, SBI Holdings announced a strategic partnership with the Solana Foundation aiming to develop a Japanese onchain financial market.
As part of the partnership, the Solana Foundation will join SBI R3 Japan, which will be renamed SBI Solana Global and tasked with issuing a new growth strategy focused on the yen-backed stablecoin. The initiative also lays out goals related to expanding stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets across Asia, and building infrastructure for institutional onchain financial services, cross-border payments, and payment tooling for AI agents.
While the lending program itself is delivered through SBI VC Trade’s product framework, the partnership suggests the company wants JPYSC to be more than a local feature. The stated aim is ultimately to broaden how yen stablecoins can be used across a larger onchain and settlement ecosystem.
Japan policy signals support for Web3 startups
The timing of the launch also aligns with reported positive signals for Japan’s wider crypto and Web3 startup environment. According to a CoinPost report, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reportedly said in a video address at WebX 2026 that the government plans to strengthen support for crypto and Web3 startups.
The measures reportedly include increased funding via government-backed funds and easing of regulatory requirements. The government’s direction has been reinforced by policy frameworks such as the “Startup Total Power Package” introduced in May 2025, and a “Five-Year Startup Development Plan” formulated in 2022, which aims to increase startup investments to 10 trillion yen by fiscal 2027, according to the Cabinet Office documents.
Separately, in April 2026, Japan amended the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act to classify crypto assets as financial instruments. That change moves digital assets out of an experimental payments category and places them in a more established regulatory framework comparable to stock market instruments.
For markets, these developments matter because they reduce friction for compliant product design and may help explain why stablecoin use cases—like lending—are emerging in more structured formats rather than remaining experimental.
With SBI VC Trade starting applications for this 12-week JPYSC lending program, the next thing readers should watch is not only participation and returns, but also how consistently Japan’s evolving regulatory approach supports stablecoin yield products—especially around insolvency exposure, token handling, and whether future offerings add stronger protections for users.
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