SBI Launches 10 Billion Yen "On-Chain Bonds"! Retail Investors Can Still Earn XRP Rewards

Want stable income while riding the crypto wave? Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings has recently taken the first step by announcing the issuance of its first “Blockchain Bond” for retail investors. This digital bond, with a issuance scale of up to 10 billion yen (approximately $64.5 million), not only maintains the stability of traditional fixed-income products but also integrates blockchain settlement technology and cryptocurrency rewards.
This product is named “SBI START Bond” and is managed entirely on the enterprise-grade blockchain platform “ibet for Fin,” operated by BOOSTRY, which specializes in security token issuance.
Regarding the most important concern for investors—returns—the estimated annual interest rate for this 3-year bond ranges from 1.85% to 2.45%, with interest paid semiannually.
In addition to interest income, investors who purchase this bond can also receive Ripple (XRP) rewards. SBI states that any retail investor or corporate entity with Japanese residency, who subscribes with a minimum of 100,000 yen (about $650) and has an account on the group’s cryptocurrency exchange “SBI VC Trade,” is eligible to receive XRP rewards based on their subscription ratio.
The specific distribution mechanism is quite eye-catching: the product description states that for every 100,000 yen invested, investors will receive XRP worth 200 yen. The reward will be distributed in advance on the bond issuance date and will also be credited on each subsequent interest payment date until 2029.
The “SBI START Bond” is scheduled to officially list on March 25 this year on the Osaka Digital Exchange’s “START” dedicated trading system, allowing investors to trade on the secondary market.
As early as 2016, SBI established a strategic partnership with Ripple, becoming one of the financial institutions in the XRP ecosystem. Since then, SBI has continued to publicly support XRP, with its subsidiaries directly distributing XRP to shareholders and promoting XRP cross-border remittances between Japan and the Philippines.
Yoshitaka Kitao, chairman and president of SBI Group, proudly revealed that the group holds about 9% of Ripple Labs’ equity.
The alliance with Ripple is a key step for SBI into the blockchain field, and the two even co-founded “SBI Ripple Asia.”