BlackRock signs MOU with SBI and Startale to link tokenized MMFs with JPY stablecoin JPYSC
BlackRock Financial Management and BlackRock Japan sign an MOU with SBI Holdings and Startale Group to study connecting tokenized MMFs with JPYSC, Japan's trust-bank-backed yen stablecoin.
BlackRock Financial Management and BlackRock Japan signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on October 26, 2026 with SBI Holdings and Startale Group to study linking tokenized money market funds (MMFs) with JPYSC, SBI's yen-denominated stablecoin. Reporting from The Block was followed by Crypto Briefing and multiple other outlets.
The MOU is exploratory, not a product launch. The parties plan to examine three areas: technology and infrastructure, business and distribution, and regulation and market development. No pilot date, go-live date, blockchain, or committed capital amount has been stated.
Who is doing what, as of the MOU
| Party | Role, per Ripple-style announcement |
|---|---|
| BlackRock Financial Management + BlackRock Japan | Study the integration from the global tokenized-MMF side; most reporting names BUIDL (~$2.17 B AUM in U.S. Treasuries, overnight repos and cash) as BlackRock's reference tokenized-fund product, though The Block does not state BUIDL as the specific MMF under the MOU. |
| SBI Holdings | Regulatory and distribution lead on the Japan side; parent of the trust bank and the licensed exchange. |
| Startale Group | Technology lead; co-developer of the Soneium blockchain. |
| SBI Shinsei Trust Bank | Issuer of JPYSC. |
| SBI VC Trade | Licensed-exchange distributor of JPYSC. |
Yoshitaka Kitao, SBI Holdings' representative director, chairman and president, is the only named executive quote in reports: "The shift to onchain finance is becoming an unavoidable global trend."
JPYSC in two paragraphs
JPYSC launched in June 2026, described in announcements as Japan's first trust-bank-backed yen stablecoin. It operates under Japan's Payment Services Act amendments passed in 2022 (effective 2023), which define fiat-backed stablecoins as Electronic Payment Instruments and limit issuance to licensed banks, trust companies and registered money-transfer services. SBI Shinsei Trust Bank handles issuance and redemption; SBI VC Trade handles circulation.
Startale and SBI signed the original MOU to develop JPYSC in December 2025. Since the June 2026 launch, SBI, DigiFT and Startale ran a proof-of-concept on an Ethereum testnet tokenizing the SBI Japan High Dividend Equity Fund (~$1.3 B AUM) with JPYSC settlement — the first public demonstration of JPYSC in an institutional tokenized-fund flow.
What a tokenized-MMF ↔ JPYSC link would actually bridge
The stated design question is on-chain cash-equivalent liquidity in yen. Tokenized MMFs sit on-chain as a yielding, fiat-reserved asset; a stablecoin is on-chain cash. Connecting the two is the mechanism tokenization proponents have been describing for 18 months: a user holding tokenized MMF shares can swap into on-chain yen for payments or settlement, and swap back for yield, without round-tripping through a bank account.
- BlackRock side: BUIDL and its newer BRSRV fund are USD-denominated. The MOU opens the door to a yen leg — either a yen-denominated BlackRock tokenized MMF, or a FX bridge between USD BUIDL and JPYSC. Neither is confirmed in the MOU.
- SBI side: JPYSC today is a settlement currency in search of institutional-grade on-chain yen collateral. A tokenized MMF would be exactly that.
- Collaboration posture: The partners state the arrangement is open to other financial institutions in Japan and abroad — not a closed BlackRock/SBI/Startale venture.
What is not in the announcement
- Which blockchain. Soneium is Startale's co-developed chain, but neither party has confirmed it is the venue; Ethereum (where BUIDL lives) is a candidate too. Both reports stop short of saying.
- Which tokenized MMF. BUIDL is the obvious inference but is not named by The Block.
- Any pilot or launch date. The MOU is exploratory.
- Any committed capital. None is stated.
Context — this is Japan's second big tokenization bilateral in a month
The MOU extends Japan's regulated-stablecoin plus tokenized-asset architecture to a global asset manager. Japan's megabanks (MUFG, SMBC, Mizuho) are separately running a trust-bank-issued stablecoin pilot; the SBI/Startale axis is the private-sector track. The MOU with BlackRock pulls the private-sector track into direct contact with the largest tokenized-MMF issuer in the market.
A tokenized MMF ↔ regulated stablecoin bridge, if built, is the first production example of what the FSB's and Bank of England's recent papers have been describing in the abstract: dollar- or yen-equivalent on-chain cash backed by on-chain MMF reserves, inside a regulated-issuer wrapper. Prior work on this site covered the FSB's October stablecoin report and JPMorgan's JPMD stablecoin on Ethereum mainnet via Kinexys — the architectural moves are converging.
What to watch
- Who publishes the actual MOU text. Chainbits circulated a press-release-formatted version; a direct SBI Holdings or BlackRock release would pin the exact scope.
- BUIDL or a new yen MMF. The MOU's economic shape depends on whether BlackRock stands up a yen-denominated tokenized MMF or exposes BUIDL to a JPY FX leg.
- Blockchain choice. Soneium is the house candidate; Ethereum L1 is the BUIDL incumbent. The pick signals how proprietary this will be.
- FSA posture. JPYSC operates under Japan's Payment Services Act regime; a connection to a US-registered MMF introduces cross-border payment-rails questions the FSA has not publicly addressed.
Sources:
- The Block — BlackRock joins SBI and Startale to link tokenized MMFs with Japanese yen stablecoins (2026-10-26).
- Crypto Briefing — BlackRock signs MOU with SBI and Startale to explore linking tokenized MMFs with yen stablecoin JPYSC (2026-10-26).
- Prior coverage — FSB stablecoin cross-border report (Bailey, October).
- Prior coverage — JPMorgan JPMD on Ethereum mainnet via Kinexys.