SBI Holdings, Inc. and SBI Shinsei Bank, Limited today announced a strategic investment in Circle Internet Group, Inc., the issuer of USDC, in conjunction with Circle’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange on June 5.

The total investment amounts to USD 50 million, with USD 25 million each contributed by SBI Holdings and SBI Shinsei Bank.

Circle’s IPO opened at USD 69 above its initial offering price of USD 31, and closed its first day of trading at USD 83, once marking a significant increase of over 200%. It was the largest IPO for a fintech company since Coinbase listed on NASDAQ in 2021.

Amid strong demand from numerous institutional investors, etc., the SBI Group secured one of the largest allocations of Circle shares.

In 2016, SBI Holdings invested in Ripple Labs, a company developing international remittance technology utilizing the crypto asset XRP, and currently hold approximately 9% of its shares as its largest external shareholder.

In 2017, the SBI Group invested in R3, a company that provides the Corda, a private blockchain platform for financial institutions.

Furthermore, in 2019, the SBI Group invested in Securitize, a company that provides a platform for issuing and managing digital securities on the blockchain.

Through these initiatives, the SBI Group has not only made strategic investments but also collaborated with global partners to deliver a wide range of services in the digital asset field.

In March 2025, SBI VC Trade, a consolidated subsidiary of SBI Holdings and a registered crypto asset exchange operator, became the first in Japan to offer USDC to the public. Furthermore, to accelerate the adoption of USDC in the Japanese market, an agreement was signed to establish a joint venture company, Circle SBI Japan KK.

Following the strategic investment in Circle, SBI Holdings —together with SBI Shinsei Bank—will explore further collaboration with Circle to accelerating joint initiatives and building a platform that broadly integrates USDC into Japan’s existing financial ecosystem.