SBI VC Trade surpasses 2M registered accounts as Japanese firms use Bitcoin and XRP for loyalty programs
Japan's largest financial conglomerate is quietly turning crypto into a mainstream rewards currency, and the numbers are starting to look serious.
SBI VC Trade, the crypto exchange arm of Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings, has crossed a significant milestone. The platform has amassed roughly 1.94 million accounts as of April 2026, and a pending acquisition is about to push that figure considerably higher.
The numbers behind the surge
SBI VC Trade’s trajectory has been steep. The platform’s assets under custody have ballooned to Â¥600 billion, roughly $4 billion. That figure represents a compound annual growth rate of 44.6% since March 2023.
The account base is about to get a major boost, too. SBI’s planned acquisition of Bitbank, announced in June 2026, is projected to add approximately 960,000 accounts. That would bring the combined total to around 2.92 million.
The exchange has already integrated accounts and assets from DMM Bitcoin during 2024-2025 and absorbed Bitpoint Japan’s assets in April 2026.
Crypto as a loyalty currency
SBI Shinsei Bank launched a pilot program on June 10, 2026, that lets depositors redeem 20% of their deposit interest as vouchers for cryptocurrencies. The eligible tokens include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP, all redeemable through SBI VC Trade accounts.
The pilot targets around 4.33 million eligible accounts. Whether the program becomes permanent depends on its reception during the trial period.
In February 2026, SBI issued a blockchain-based bond worth 10 billion yen, approximately $64.5 million, that rewarded retail investors with XRP.
SBI’s long XRP bet
The company has also begun distributing the RLUSD stablecoin starting in March 2026 and has signaled plans for XRP ETF filings. The XRP bond rewards and the inclusion of XRP in the bank deposit pilot reflect SBI’s deep and longstanding ties to Ripple.
What this means for investors
For XRP specifically, SBI’s persistent integration creates a steady demand floor that doesn’t depend on speculative trading. When millions of bank customers can passively accumulate XRP through deposit interest, that’s a distribution channel most tokens can only dream about.
The risk worth watching is execution. Converting 4.33 million eligible bank accounts into active crypto participants requires more than just flipping a switch. User education, regulatory compliance at scale, and the general inertia of traditional banking customers all create friction.