Yen, Won, Done 🌏 Ripple's SBI and Kyobo Skip the Dollar in Cross-Border Stablecoin Shuffle

Japan's SBI Group and South Korea's Kyobo Life Insurance completed a direct yen-to-won stablecoin cross-border proof-of-concept, executing institutional fund transfers between JPY and KRW-linked stablecoins without converting through U.S. dollars. The test, which began in July, used the Canton Network as its environment.

Previously, yen-denominated transfers between the two countries required conversion into U.S. dollars before settlement in won, adding time and transaction costs. The pilot eliminated the dollar leg by settling directly between the yen stablecoin and the Korean won stablecoin.

Ripple, SBI's long-term partner, and Kyobo Life Insurance verified the direct exchange as part of their collaboration. SBI and Kyobo said they plan to extend the work into digital asset exchanges, asset management, and new business models built around the tested infrastructure.

The companies have not disclosed transaction volumes, participant counts, or a production launch date for the JPY-KRW stablecoin corridor.