Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin began trading on SBI VC Trade on June 24, 2026, becoming the first USD-denominated token to clear Japan's Fourth Electronic Payment Method (EPM) designation, a licensing bar set by the country's 2023 stablecoin legislation that no dollar token had crossed until now.

SBI VC Trade, the crypto arm of $11 billion financial group SBI Holdings, is the sole distributor. Japan's EPM framework divides digital payment instruments into four types; RLUSD received a Type 4 electronic payment instrument classification under the revised Payment Services Act, a residual category for digital property deemed equivalent to the first three types, which cover currency-denominated payment instruments, exchangeable instruments, and those with specific trust-beneficiary rights.

Japan's stablecoin law, passed in 2022 and effective from June 2023, requires distributors to obtain a license before offering foreign-currency digital payment instruments. RLUSD is the first dollar-denominated token to receive that designation.

The Japan listing runs on Ethereum only. SBI VC Trade accepts RLUSD deposits and withdrawals for Ethereum-based tokens; the XRP Ledger version is not listed in Japan. Each transaction carries a ¥1,000,000 cap (approximately $6,200), matching Japan's EPM rules. RLUSD has been available on both Ethereum and XRPL in other markets since its global rollout.

Ripple and SBI announced the partnership on August 22, 2025, targeting a Q1 2026 launch; the listing went live ten months later. "The introduction of RLUSD will not just expand the option of stablecoins in the Japanese market, but is a major step forward in the reliability and convenience of stablecoins in the Japanese market," SBI VC Trade CEO Tomohiko Kondo said at the time.

RLUSD is issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, a New York-chartered Ripple subsidiary, backed by dollar deposits and short-term Treasury securities with monthly third-party attestations.

Japan is the first Asian jurisdiction to list RLUSD under a national stablecoin licensing regime.