{"id":147687,"date":"2026-04-06T16:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T16:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/?p=147687"},"modified":"2026-04-06T16:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T16:30:00","slug":"xrp-headed-for-a-price-shock-japans-financial-heavyweight-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/?p=147687","title":{"rendered":"XRP Headed For A Price Shock, Japan\u2019s Financial Heavyweight Says"},"content":{"rendered":"

A 10 billion yen blockchain bond launched earlier this year by SBI Holdings<\/a> may say more about Japan\u2019s XRP ambitions than any price prediction could.<\/p>\n

Crypto commentator Stellar Rippler brought the SBI CEO\u2019s remarks to light, sparking fresh debate over XRP\u2019s outlook.<\/p>\n

SBI\u2019s Long Game With Ripple<\/h2>\n

The Tokyo-based financial giant issued the bond in February 2026, offering investors returns paid out in XRP<\/a> \u2014 a first for a major Japanese financial institution.<\/p>\n

The move came alongside plans to roll out Ripple\u2019s RLUSD stablecoin through SBI\u2019s licensed exchange in Japan, and a new partnership between SBI Ripple Asia and the Asia Web3 Alliance Japan<\/a> to back startups building financial tools on the XRP Ledger.<\/p>\n

SBI\u2019s ties to Ripple run deep. The company has been Ripple\u2019s largest external shareholder since the two firms launched SBI Ripple Asia in 2016. That joint venture has spent nearly a decade building cross-border payment corridors across Japan, South Korea, India, and the Philippines \u2014 real infrastructure, not just announcements.<\/p>\n

\u201cXRP WILL BE VERY EXPENSIVE.\u201d<\/p>\n

No, this is not just David Schwartz\u2019s confession. This was also said by the biggest financial giant of Japan, Yoshitaka Kitao, SBI Holdings CEO.<\/p>\n

SBI is Ripple\u2019s largest external shareholder.
\nAnd he says clearly: \u201cXRP will be very expensive.\u201d\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/mixB533ymR<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Stellar Rippler (@Stellar_Rippler) April 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

CEO\u2019s Words Draw Attention<\/h2>\n

Against that backdrop, comments from SBI Holdings CEO Yoshitaka Kitao are drawing renewed attention. Kitao stated plainly that XRP \u201cwill be very expensive.\u201d He also pointed to the ongoing legal proceedings between Ripple and US regulators, saying a court ruling in Ripple\u2019s favor could trigger a significant jump in XRP\u2019s price.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the decision is made and Ripple\u2019s XRP is a coin, I think it will be a big price,\u201d Kitao said. \u201cIf the conclusion is positive, I think it will be great.\u201d<\/p>\n

His remarks were shared widely in crypto circles after being posted on social media. Coming from the head of one of Japan\u2019s largest financial services groups \u2014 one with direct financial stakes in Ripple \u2014 the statement landed differently than typical market commentary.<\/p>\n

Kitao appeared to believe a ruling could come within weeks, based on reports circulating at the time. No confirmed court date has been publicly announced.<\/p>\n

A Partnership Still Expanding<\/p>\n

What makes the CEO\u2019s comments worth following is the weight SBI carries in the Ripple story. This isn\u2019t a speculative endorsement from the sidelines. SBI has put real money, real products, and real institutional infrastructure behind XRP over nearly a decade.<\/p>\n

The February bond alone \u2014 worth roughly $64 million \u2014 signals that SBI is not pulling back. It is doubling down, using XRP as a direct reward mechanism for its investors in a market where regulatory approval for such products is hard-won.<\/p>\n

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A 10 billion yen blockchain bond launched earlier this year by SBI Holdings may say more about Japan\u2019s XRP ambitions than any price prediction could. Crypto commentator Stellar Rippler brought the SBI CEO\u2019s remarks to light, sparking fresh debate over XRP\u2019s outlook. SBI\u2019s Long Game With Ripple The Tokyo-based financial giant issued the bond in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-147687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discovery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147687"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=147687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147687\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=147687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=147687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=147687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}