BlackRock Financial Management and BlackRock Japan have signed a memorandum of understanding with SBI Holdings and Startale Group to explore connecting tokenized money market funds with JPYSC, a Japanese yen-pegged stablecoin launched by SBI and Startale. The agreement places one of BlackRock’s tokenized fund initiatives alongside Japan’s emerging stablecoin framework, though the companies have not announced a product launch, timeline, or final technical design.
The parties said the work will examine whether tokenized money market fund shares can be connected to JPYSC through suitable infrastructure, distribution arrangements and regulatory structures. Such a link could eventually give eligible users a way to move between yen-denominated digital cash and tokenized short-term financial assets within onchain financial systems, subject to the legal and operational requirements now under review.
BlackRock’s involvement brings its USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, known as BUIDL, into the discussion. Launched in 2024, BUIDL holds U.S. Treasurys, overnight repurchase agreements and cash. The fund had about $2.17 billion in assets under management, according to the information released with the memorandum. Its shares are represented on blockchain networks while the underlying portfolio remains invested in conventional short-term instruments.
Three areas under review
The memorandum divides the proposed work into technology and infrastructure, business and distribution, and regulation and market development.
On the technical side, the companies plan to assess the requirements for integrating tokenized money market fund structures with JPYSC. That could involve the systems used to issue, transfer, settle and redeem digital tokens, as well as the controls required to ensure that transactions meet the standards expected of regulated financial products.
The business portion will consider potential models for offering and distributing tokenized assets through the participants’ respective networks and market access. SBI has an established presence in Japanese financial services and digital-asset businesses, while Startale develops blockchain infrastructure intended for financial applications. BlackRock Financial Management and BlackRock Japan would bring the asset manager’s tokenization experience and its relationships in traditional finance.
Regulatory work will be central rather than peripheral to the project. The parties said they will evaluate market conditions and legal developments affecting stablecoins and tokenized assets, and described the arrangement as open to financial institutions and businesses in Japan and overseas.
That framing reflects the limits of the announcement. The memorandum sets out an exploration process rather than a commitment to allow JPYSC holders to purchase or redeem BUIDL shares directly. The eventual structure would depend on licensing, investor eligibility, custody, fund-distribution rules, tax treatment and the technical safeguards required in each jurisdiction where any service could be offered.
Japan’s stablecoin rules shape the project
Japan established its legal framework for fiat-backed stablecoins through 2022 amendments to the Payment Services Act, which took effect in 2023. The rules classify qualifying fiat-backed stablecoins as Electronic Payment Instruments and restrict their issuance to licensed banks, trust companies and registered money transfer service providers.
Those restrictions distinguish Japan’s market from jurisdictions where stablecoin issuance has often developed ahead of detailed legislation. For a yen-pegged token to operate within the Japanese framework, the legal claim behind the token and the entities managing issuance and redemption carry particular weight.
SBI said it launched JPYSC with Startale in June 2026 as Japan’s first trust bank-backed yen stablecoin. SBI Shinsei Trust Bank manages issuance, while SBI VC Trade handles distribution, according to the companies. The structure is designed around Japan’s regulated stablecoin rules, giving the proposed BlackRock-SBI-Startale work a domestic legal foundation that many earlier tokenized-asset experiments lacked.
Yoshitaka Kitao, representative director, chairman and president of SBI Holdings, said the collaboration formed part of the company’s preparation for onchain finance and next-generation market infrastructure. The companies said their next steps would include further examination of infrastructure, distribution channels and regulatory frameworks that could support connections between stablecoins and tokenized assets.
A potential bridge between yen liquidity and tokenized funds
Money market funds have become one of the most prominent early uses of tokenization because their portfolios contain relatively simple, liquid instruments such as government debt and repo agreements. Tokenizing fund shares can make ownership records and transfers more programmable, though the underlying fund remains subject to its established investment rules and redemption processes.
A yen stablecoin could provide a settlement instrument for transactions involving such assets, potentially reducing reliance on manual reconciliation between separate payment, custody and fund-administration systems. Any practical benefit would depend on how often the token is accepted, how redemptions are handled, and whether institutions can connect the arrangement to their existing compliance and treasury operations.
The memorandum also points to a strategic challenge for Japan’s digital-asset market. Dollar-denominated stablecoins dominate global crypto settlement, while a regulated yen alternative needs credible issuance, accessible distribution and useful applications beyond token trading. Connecting JPYSC to tokenized financial products could create one such use case, particularly for institutions seeking yen-based settlement in digital markets.
For BlackRock, the agreement extends BUIDL’s relevance beyond dollar-native blockchain markets without changing the fund’s underlying exposure to U.S. dollar-denominated short-term assets. For SBI and Startale, it offers a potential route to pair JPYSC with a large, existing tokenized fund rather than building demand solely around payments or crypto-market activity.
The practical outcome will depend on whether the parties can turn their memorandum into a regulated product structure that works across Japanese and international rules. Their stated focus on distribution and market development suggests that building the channels for institutional use may prove as consequential as the blockchain connection itself.
To understand Asia’s fast-evolving stablecoin landscape and regulation, explore our deep dive on stablecoins in Asia today.
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