Japan built a functioning banking system based on XRP while the rest of the world spent years debating the legal status of cryptocurrencies. Evernorth analysts published a revealing infographic that clearly breaks down this phenomenon and explains in detail why the country found itself one step ahead of the rest of the world: exactly 10 years ago, Japan launched the processes whose benefits it is reaping today.
How Tokyo turned XRP into a practical everyday network
As Evernorth notes, it all began in 2016 with the creation of the SBI Ripple Asia consortium, while XRP entered the domestic Japanese market as early as 2017.
While U.S. regulators were only beginning their prolonged legal battles with the crypto industry, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) immediately created clear rules for digital assets. Major businesses received the green light, eliminating their biggest concern: legal uncertainty.
By 2026, this pragmatic approach had transformed XRP from a speculative asset into an element of the everyday economy. In its analysis, Evernorth highlights how this works in practice today:
- Interest on deposits paid in crypto: SBI Shinsei Bank customers can receive returns on their standard bank deposits directly in XRP.
- Bonds with bonuses: Financial giant SBI Holdings successfully distributed 10 billion yen, or approximately $64 million, in retail bonds, with investors receiving XRP tokens as an incentive.
- The real economy: Local travel operators, including Tobu Top Tours, use XRP Ledger technology for domestic prepaid settlements, reducing costs through extremely low transaction fees.
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Evernorth’s analysis captures the main conclusion: Japan gained a time advantage because it initially treated XRP not as a speculative instrument, but as a ready-to-use payments infrastructure for modernizing the banking system.
While other markets are only beginning to catch up, Tokyo has already strengthened its leadership by integrating the RLUSD stablecoin on locally licensed platforms. Its decade-long commitment to legal infrastructure has fully paid off.
