SBI Holdings, Inc. today announced the establishment of a joint venture with Circle Internet Holdings, Inc., an affiliate of Circle Internet Group, Inc. (NYSE:CRCL).

In November 2023, SBI Holdings signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Circle Internet Financial, LLC, an affiliate of Circle, for a strategic business alliance to explore the circulation of USDC, establish a banking relationship, and promote the use of Circle’s Web3-related services in Japan.

Following the MOU, SBI Holdings and Circle Holdings signed a formative joint agreement in March 2025 to establish this joint venture.

The establishment of this joint venture aims to promote the use of USDC in Japan and create new use cases in the Web3 and digital finance domains.

Pursuant to Circle’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the SBI Group acquired shares in Circle equivalent to USD 50 million as a strategic investor.

By leveraging the SBI Group’s financial infrastructure and Circle’s expertise, the two companies will contribute to advancing Japan’s digital financial ecosystem.