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- SBI Bank will reward savers with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP.
- Customers can redeem interest-based vouchers through SBI VC Trade.
- SBI expands crypto strategy through exchanges, blockchain, and stablecoins.
SBI Shinsei Bank, Japan’s largest commercial bank, is looking to offer savings customers a new method to achieve exposure to digital assets via a rewards program based on deposit interest income. The banking arm of the SBI Group will launch the program this fall, with eligible customers able to earn vouchers for interest earned on their deposits, Nikkei reports. Those vouchers can then be converted to cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP, on SBI VC Trade, the group’s digital asset exchange.
The initiative caters to existing users and those who want to delve into cryptocurrency investments in a familiar banking setting. Furthermore, the participants need to have an account with SBI VC Trade before converting rewards to digital currencies. According to local crypto news platform Coinpost, SBI Shinsei Bank will soon launch the project via test through a three-month-period starting June 10. A deposit of 300,000 yen, equivalent to roughly $1,872, would generate about 500 yen worth of vouchers. Meanwhile, customers holding 30 million yen or more would qualify for vouchers valued at approximately 20,000 yen.
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SBI Strengthens Connections Between Banking and Digital Assets
The launch is the latest in SBI Group’s broader initiatives to penetrate various facets of the cryptocurrency space. The company is also looking into investments and partnerships that will help further digital asset adoption, other than introducing crypto rewards for depositors. However, last month, SBI Holdings Chairman and President Yoshitaka Kitao announced that the company had started preliminary talks for acquiring a stake in cryptocurrency exchange Bitbank, which is one of the biggest exchanges in Japan.
Moreover, the reports in May suggested the development of cryptocurrency investment trusts by SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities for retail investors. Those products would enable the customer to get exposure to digital assets through traditional investment avenues.
SBI Expands Blockchain and Stablecoin Initiatives
SBI has also extended its blockchain business to products and services in areas other than trading and investment products. This company partnered with Startale Group earlier this year to work on a blockchain network around tokenized stocks. Moreover, it launched a Japanese yen stablecoin called JPYSC that is backed by a trust bank structure. The group’s efforts are part of a larger initiative to create infrastructure that integrates traditional finance with blockchain-based services. Therefore, SBI is actively moving beyond transactions and investments to settlement, tokenization, and development of digital assets.
Hence, the new rewards program aligns with SBI’s broader approach to becoming a one-stop solution for banking, investing, and cryptocurrency. The move is another step in the company’s efforts to provide its traditional banking clients with more ways to access the crypto space by pairing deposit products with digital asset rewards. As digital asset usage grows, SBI Shinsei Bank’s new rewards program demonstrates the growing trend in Japanese financial institutions to integrate traditional banking services and cryptocurrencies.
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