SBI Shinsei Bank will launch a pilot program tomorrow that lets depositors convert up to 20% of their earned interest into vouchers for Bitcoin, Ethereum, or XRP — while keeping their deposits in yen with full insurance coverage. The move, effective June 10, is one of the first to blend insured traditional bank deposits with direct crypto exposure through a licensed exchange linkup.
How the voucher program works
Customers need a linked SBI VC Trade account to redeem the vouchers. Interest earned on a standard Hyper Deposit account — which pays about 0.42% annually — gets converted at market prices on payout days. The bank converts only the interest, not the principal. Deposits stay fully insured under Japan's deposit insurance scheme. The pilot caps conversions at 20% of the interest earned, so the amounts will be small. That's by design: the bank is testing demand without exposing depositors to principal risk.
Why XRP is in the mix
XRP's inclusion alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum isn't random. SBI Holdings, the parent of SBI Shinsei's crypto arm, has long backed Ripple and pushed XRP adoption in Japan. That relationship explains why the voucher program offers all three — a nod to both mainstream crypto assets and SBI's own strategic bets.
Japan vs. the US approach
Japan's Payment Services Act allows banks to integrate licensed crypto exchanges into traditional deposit services. That framework clears the path for SBI Shinsei's pilot. The US moved in the opposite direction. The GENIUS Act, enacted in July 2025, bans stablecoin issuers from paying yield to holders. A pending bill called the Clarity Act aims to close loopholes in that ban. So while Japan experiments with insured deposits plus crypto upside, US regulators are actively blocking similar structures.
Real-world scale
The Hyper Deposit account pays roughly 0.42% per year. On a ¥10 million deposit, that's ¥42,000 in annual interest. Twenty percent of that — ¥8,400 — gets converted to crypto at prevailing market rates. That's enough to buy a fraction of one coin. Not life-changing, but it's a toehold. The pilot will show whether depositors actually bother with the setup for such small sums.
The pilot goes live Tuesday. It's unclear whether SBI Shinsei will extend the program beyond the initial trial, or if other Japanese banks will follow suit. But the structure — insured deposits with optional crypto upside — is exactly what the US stablecoin rule aims to prevent.
