Japan's SBI Group to launch JPYSC stablecoin lending service this month

Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Group is set to launch a lending service that offers a 3% annual yield on users' JPYSC stablecoins.

SBI announced Monday that it will open applications for the service on July 16, offering a 12-week fixed-term product through SBI VC Trade, the group's crypto trading platform. The product will initially offer a 3% annual yield, according to the press release.

The initiative comes less than a month after SBI launched JPYSC, the country's first trust bank-backed yen stablecoin. SBI said at the time that it expects JPYSC to attract retail and corporate users through lower transaction costs and support for block trades.

JPYSC is a key component of SBI Group's broader strategy to expand into onchain finance, backed by a series of recent crypto-related investments.

Last week, SBI became the sole investor in Gauntlet's $125 million Series C funding round. Institutional crypto platform EDX Markets also closed a $76 million Series C financing last week, with SBI as the sole investor. In June, it acquired Japanese crypto exchange Bitbank for nearly $289 million.