SBI Group Partners with Chainlink to Transform Asian Finance

SBI Group manages over $200 billion in assets and operates across 25 countries. The company will work with Chainlink to build blockchain tools for banks and financial firms throughout Japan and the Asia-Pacific region.

What the Partnership Will Do

The collaboration focuses on several key areas that could change how financial institutions operate in Asia.

First, the companies will create tools for tokenized real-world assets. These are physical assets like bonds and real estate that get converted into digital tokens on blockchain networks. This makes them easier to trade and manage across different platforms.

Second, they plan to improve stablecoin operations. Chainlink’s technology will help verify that stablecoins have proper reserves backing them up. This adds trust and transparency to digital currency transactions.

Source: @chainlink

The partnership will also focus on cross-border payments. By using Chainlink’s interoperability protocol, financial institutions can move money between different blockchain networks more easily. This could make international transactions faster and cheaper.

Finally, the companies will bring fund data onto blockchain networks. This means investment fund information like net asset values will be available in real-time on digital platforms.

Strong Market Demand Drives the Deal

The partnership comes at a time when Asian financial institutions are eager to adopt blockchain technology. According to SBI Digital Asset Holdings, 76% of surveyed financial institutions plan to invest in tokenized securities. They cite cost savings and efficiency improvements as main reasons for this interest.

Sergey Nazarov, Chainlink’s co-founder, said the partnership represents “production usage at a large scale.” He noted that Chainlink has already been helping SBI develop stablecoin settlement systems and advanced fund tokenization projects.

SBI Holdings CEO Yoshitaka Kitao explained that the partnership aims to “power compliant cross-border transactions using stablecoins.” This could speed up the adoption of digital assets across Japan and the broader region.

Building on Previous Success

This new partnership builds on work the companies have already done together. Under Singapore’s Project Guardian, SBI Digital Markets, Chainlink, and UBS Asset Management successfully tested automated fund management systems in 2023.

The pilot project showed how blockchain technology can automate traditional fund operations. It demonstrated that tokenized funds could maintain records on one blockchain while processing transactions on another. This flexibility makes the system more efficient and reduces operational costs.

The Project Guardian work also included partnerships with major financial networks. Swift successfully completed trials that connected tokenized assets with existing payment systems used by over 11,500 banks worldwide.

Part of Bigger Crypto Push

The Chainlink deal is just one piece of SBI’s broader crypto strategy. In the same week, the company announced partnerships with three other major crypto firms.

SBI will work with Circle to promote the USDC stablecoin in Japan. The company also partnered with Ripple Labs to offer the Ripple USD stablecoin through its crypto subsidiary SBI VC Trade by March 2026.

Additionally, SBI teamed up with Web3 firm Startale to build a 24/7 trading platform for tokenized stocks and real-world assets. This platform will work similar to services launched by major crypto exchanges that offer round-the-clock trading.

These partnerships show SBI’s commitment to building a complete ecosystem for digital assets. The company appears to be positioning itself as a leader in Japan’s evolving crypto finance sector.

Perfect Timing for Regulatory Changes

The partnership comes as Japan prepares to approve its first yen-denominated stablecoin. The country’s Financial Services Agency is expected to approve the digital currency as early as September 2025, with fintech firm JPYC leading the rollout.

Japan has developed one of the world’s most advanced regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrency. The country balances innovation with investor protection, creating an environment where crypto businesses can operate with clear rules.

This regulatory clarity makes Japan an attractive market for blockchain partnerships. Financial institutions can invest in crypto technology knowing they have government support and clear guidelines to follow.

The timing also aligns with broader trends in Asian finance. Banks across the region are exploring digital asset custody services and tokenized real-world assets. More than 65% of banks are actively researching these technologies, according to recent industry reports.

What This Means for Asian Finance

This partnership could have major implications for how financial services work in Asia. By combining SBI’s extensive network with Chainlink’s proven technology, the collaboration creates infrastructure for mainstream adoption of blockchain-based financial products.

The partnership addresses key barriers that have slowed crypto adoption in traditional finance. Issues like interoperability between different blockchain networks, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency have all been major concerns for financial institutions.

The SBI-Chainlink collaboration provides solutions to these problems while working within existing regulatory frameworks. This approach could encourage more traditional financial firms to explore blockchain technology.