SBI Holdings Taps Stablecoins for Cross-Border Payments with Korean Partner

Japan's SBI Holdings is exploring cross-border payments between Japan and Korea using stablecoins. The initiative, called Project Musubi, aims to use yen, won, and dollar-denominated stablecoins alongside tokenized assets for payment versus payment settlement and distributed netting among participants.

Under the agreement, SBI's subsidiary dedicated to Canton Network projects will develop the integration layer connecting traditional financial systems to the network. Nodeinfra will lead development of the core payment protocol, Daml smart contracts, and developer tools.

The project relies on stablecoins that do not yet circulate freely in either country. Japan's SBI launched its yen stablecoin JPYSC in June, but it remains confined to the SBI VC Trade platform pending regulatory and tax clarification. On the Korean side, stablecoin legislation was expected to be finalized earlier this year but has not yet materialized.

Institutional players are preparing for the potential introduction of stablecoins in both markets. In Korea, the prospect of stablecoin regulation has spurred traditional institutions to invest in crypto exchanges.