BlackRock joins SBI, Startale to link tokenized funds with yen stablecoin

BlackRock has signed an agreement with SBI Holdings and Startale Group to explore connecting tokenized money market funds with JPYSC, a yen-denominated stablecoin, as the companies examine infrastructure for blockchain-based financial services in Japan.

According to an October 27 announcement from SBI Holdings and Startale, BlackRock Financial Management and BlackRock Japan signed a memorandum of understanding to examine the proposed connection. The agreement covers technical development, business opportunities and regulatory requirements, but the companies have not announced a commercial launch.

Meanwhile, the proposed arrangement would bring tokenized investment products and a yen-based payment instrument into the same financial infrastructure. The announcement does not identify a specific BlackRock fund for integration, a blockchain network or a timetable for completing the work.

BlackRock partnership targets tokenized funds and JPYSC

Under the agreement, the companies will examine how tokenized money market funds could connect with JPYSC through blockchain infrastructure. Their work will cover the systems needed to support transactions, possible distribution channels and the rules governing access to the proposed services.

SBI Holdings brings banking, securities and digital asset operations to the discussions, while Startale contributes blockchain development capabilities. BlackRock’s participation includes its U.S. financial management business and Japanese subsidiary, giving the project access to the asset manager’s experience with investment funds.

The participants plan to consult financial institutions and other businesses in Japan and overseas as they develop potential operating models. No investment commitment, transaction volume or funding arrangement was disclosed in the announcement.

BlackRock Japan President Yukiko Hashimoto said digital assets and tokenization could create new opportunities for investors in Japan. “At BlackRock, we believe these innovations can help advance financial markets and deliver new value to investors in Japan,” she said, adding that the company would contribute its global expertise to the collaboration.

SBI and Startale build on existing stablecoin projects

SBI and Startale have already worked together on financial infrastructure designed to support tokenized securities. In February, the companies introduced the Strium blockchain, a network intended for trading tokenized equities, foreign exchange products and other financial assets.

Their stablecoin work has continued through JPYSC, which uses a trust-bank issuance structure. SBI Shinsei Trust Bank handles issuance, while SBI VC Trade provides distribution services through the group’s regulated digital asset operations.

More recently, SBI and Startale announced plans to examine connections between JPYSC and Open USD. As previously reported by crypto.news, the October stablecoin interoperability proposal forms part of SBI’s continuing work on digital payments and settlement infrastructure.

SBI Holdings Chairman and President Yoshitaka Kitao described the growing use of blockchain in financial markets as a development Japan needed to prepare for. “The shift to onchain finance is becoming an unavoidable global trend,” he said, adding that SBI Group would continue developing financial products and services to support the transition.

The BlackRock agreement concerns a different category of financial product. Money market funds hold short-term financial instruments, and tokenized fund shares represent investment interests subject to the applicable fund rules, unlike stablecoins designed to maintain a reference currency value.

Japan’s stablecoin framework enters the discussions

Japan has established a legal framework for stablecoins through amendments to its Payment Services Act, which created rules for qualifying fiat-linked digital payment instruments. The companies identified regulation as one of three areas requiring further examination before a connection between JPYSC and tokenized funds could operate commercially.

Their regulatory work will include assessing the requirements for distributing tokenized investment products and using stablecoins alongside them. The announcement does not state that regulators have approved a combined service or that customers can already use JPYSC to purchase tokenized money market fund shares.

SBI has undertaken separate experiments involving stablecoin payments, including cross-border QR payment testing with partners in South Korea. That project examines payment instructions, fund movements and connections with existing merchant infrastructure, with verification targeted for completion by December 2026.

Those payment experiments involve different participants and commercial applications from the new MOU. Startale CEO Sota Watanabe described exploring the connection between JPYSC and tokenized MMFs as “an important step toward building the foundations of onchain finance,” while emphasizing Japan’s need to advance its blockchain infrastructure.

BlackRock expands its tokenized finance work

BlackRock has already developed tokenized money market fund infrastructure through its BUIDL product, which has expanded across several blockchain networks. Its existing work includes arrangements allowing eligible institutional cryptocurrency traders to use tokenized fund holdings as collateral.

The asset manager has examined further collateral applications in conventional financial markets, where custody arrangements and eligibility requirements determine whether such assets can support transactions. The newly announced Japanese collaboration does not specify whether BUIDL or another BlackRock-managed fund would participate.

BlackRock Financial Management Managing Director Jonathan Steel said the collaboration would examine how digital infrastructure could connect traditional financial markets with emerging blockchain services. He said the companies intended to explore how tokenization could “expand access, improve efficiency,” and support the continued development of global capital markets.

The companies intend to involve additional financial institutions and businesses as discussions progress. Their October 27 agreement leaves the technical design, participating funds and eventual operating arrangements subject to further assessment.