SBI Group Pioneers Blockchain Frontier with World’s First On-Chain Japanese Equity Fund
SBI Global Asset Management (TYO: 4765) has announced a significant expansion into digital asset markets, launching the world’s first public on-chain tokenization of a Japanese equity fund.
Partnering with Singapore-based digital asset exchange DigiFT Tech—an SBI capital-business ally regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)—the initiative commenced tokenization on July 14, 2026. The move structures a new private placement vehicle built on the existing mother fund of the "SBI Japan High Dividend Equity Fund". Managed by SBI Asset Management, the underlying fund has amassed approximately 220 billion yen in net assets since its December 2023 launch.
The tokenized product grants qualified global investors 24/7 access to Japanese equities via public blockchain infrastructure. While initial transactions are settled using the US dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC, SBI plans to integrate "JPYSC," a Japanese yen stablecoin issued by SBI Shinsei Trust Bank, to enable multi-currency on-chain access. Overall project coordination is being managed by SBI Onchain, a joint venture positioned to eventually establish a domestic on-chain exchange in Japan.
This launch serves as the opening move in SBI Group’s broader strategy to establish a "Japan-originated on-chain capital market". Looking forward, the company intends to integrate decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to maximize capital efficiency. Future rollouts include utilizing Morpho’s lending protocol and Gauntlet’s risk management technologies to allow investors to deploy these Japanese equity Real World Asset (RWA) tokens as collateral for on-chain lending and advanced asset management.
Norbert Gehrke
