Even in times when XRP and the company behind it were not in good shape in their home country, Japan has long stood out as a major ally. However, the most recent regulatory and institutional developments suggest that the country could play an even bigger role in their future.
Over the past several months, Japan has accelerated efforts to modernize its digital asset framework and has proposed legal reforms to classify many cryptocurrencies as financial instruments, paving the way for spot ETFs. It also introduced a more investor-friendly tax regime.
Although the legislation still needs to complete the entire process before such financial vehicles are allowed to launch, the direction has become increasingly clearer. This could be significantly beneficial for XRP.
XRP, Ripple, and Japan
For starters, SBI continues with its pro-Ripple initiatives. Both parties have been tangled for years through SBI Ripple Asia to expand cross-border payments across the region. Meanwhile, SBI VC Trade remains one of Japan’s largest XRP-friendly exchanges.
Most recently, Ripple and SBI announced that the former’s stablecoin, RLUSD, has launched in the country after receiving approval from the Japan Financial Services Agency (JFSA), which expanded their partnership into the regulated stablecoin market.
SBI has also filed for a product that could eventually become the first Japan-based XRP ETF. Instead of pairing the two largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, the proposed products went for BTC and XRP, highlighting the firm’s conviction that Ripple’s token could become a core institutional asset in the country.
Institutional Demand
Given the relatively short history of the cryptocurrency industry and the lack of regulation in most jurisdictions, proper regulatory frameworks can open the door for additional investments from larger players and institutions. Japan has been at the forefront of crypto regulation, and XRP has generally benefited from this.
Unlike the prolonged legal battle Ripple endured in the US against the SEC, Japanese regulators have long treated its token as a crypto asset rather than a security. Combined with SBI’s banking relationships and Ripple’s growing enterprise presence, that regulatory certainty has helped create one of XRP’s strongest international footholds.
If Japan indeed approves spot crypto ETFs, XRP could be among the earliest beneficiaries, thanks to its history and the infrastructure already in place there.
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