@BlackRock has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SBI Holdings and @StartaleGroup to explore connecting tokenized money market funds with a Japanese yen stablecoin. The agreement
@BlackRock has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SBI Holdings and @StartaleGroup to explore connecting tokenized money market funds with a Japanese yen stablecoin. The agreement points to growing institutional interest in onchain finance in Japan.
According to The Block, the agreement involves BlackRock Financial Management and BlackRock Japan, and focuses on SBI's yen-denominated stablecoin, JPYSC. SBI Holdings and Startale announced the deal on October 27, according to Disruption Banking, which described JPYSC as a yen-denominated trust-type stablecoin that SBI and Startale developed together.
The companies plan to examine three areas: the technical infrastructure needed to link tokenized money market funds (MMFs) with JPYSC, possible business models and distribution through their networks, and regulatory developments affecting tokenized assets and stablecoins, Disruption Banking reported.
The agreement is exploratory. Crypto Briefing reported that SBI and Startale joined the Open Standard alliance, whose members include BlackRock and Visa, on October 16, 2026. That group is working on interoperability between JPYSC and the dollar stablecoin OUSD. Disruption Banking noted that SBI's release does not name a specific BlackRock fund, a blockchain or a timeline. Crypto.news added that the announcement does not say regulators have approved a combined service or that customers can already use JPYSC to buy tokenized fund shares.
Startale CEO Sota Watanabe described exploring the link between JPYSC and tokenized MMFs as "an important step toward building the foundations of onchain finance," according to crypto.news.
Startale Labs, part of Startale Group, is the company behind projects including @soneium and @AstarNetwork ($ASTR). CoinDesk reports that Startale's products include Strium, a blockchain for tokenized securities, the JPYSC and USDSC stablecoins, and an app tied to the Sony-backed layer-2 network Soneium. In March, Startale closed a $63 million Series A round, with $50 million from SBI Group and $13 million from Sony Innovation Fund, CoinDesk said.
BlackRock already runs tokenized fund infrastructure. Crypto.news reported that its BUIDL product has expanded across several blockchain networks. Disruption Banking said BUIDL holds more than $2 billion in U.S. Treasuries, overnight repos and cash.
For Japan, the MOU adds a major global asset manager to a push by domestic firms to build regulated yen-based stablecoin and tokenization products. Whether it leads to a live product will depend on the technical, commercial and regulatory work the three parties have agreed to carry out.
