Last week, Korean banks and MoonPay outlined plans to connect banking services with stablecoins. This week, Japan’s SBI Holdings, Mesh and Money Forward announced a proposed joint venture to make digital assets easier to buy, transfer and use for payments.
Together, the developments point toward a more connected financial system—one where money can move more easily between conventional financial services and digital asset platforms.
The latest plans focus on Japan, bringing Mesh’s connectivity technology together with SBI’s financial infrastructure and regulatory expertise, supported by Money Forward’s local business experience.
A Japan Venture Backed by Financial Scale
The companies announced their basic agreement on October 7 and aim to establish Mesh SBI Money Forward Network KK during 2026. Formation remains subject to definitive agreements, internal procedures and any required engagement with relevant regulatory authorities.
SBI brings substantial scale. The group, whose businesses span banking, securities, insurance and digital assets, reported ¥38.3 trillion [approximately US$242 billion at October 7 exchange rates] in consolidated total assets as of March 31, 2026.
Those are group-wide assets, separate from the venture’s planned capital.
According to the official announcement, the proposed company would have ¥100 million in capital, with Mesh owning 60%, SBI Group 26% and Money Forward 14%.
Mesh would supply connectivity infrastructure and products. SBI would contribute financial services infrastructure and regulatory expertise, while Money Forward—already an investor in Mesh—would support management and expansion in Japan.
Making Exchanges, Wallets and Payments Work Together
Buying digital assets through an exchange, moving them to a wallet and using them for payment can involve separate accounts and procedures.
Mesh’s API integrations—software connections between services—are designed to simplify those steps. The proposed venture would initially explore commercial services connecting exchanges, wallets and related platforms in Japan.
The partners will also assess stablecoin payment solutions and infrastructure for financial institutions and businesses using tokenized assets. Longer-term expansion into those areas would depend on business progress and the regulatory environment.
Participating platforms, supported assets, fees and service launch dates have yet to be announced.
Startale Shows What Digital Yen Can Do
The plans follow Startale Japan’s digital corporate bond announcement, covered by Blockster yesterday. The bond will pay interest and return investors’ principal in JPYSC, the yen-denominated stablecoin issued by SBI Shinsei Trust Bank.
That gives digital yen a specific job in corporate finance: paying bondholders. The proposed Mesh venture addresses a complementary need—connections between the services through which digital assets are bought, moved and used.
No integration with JPYSC or Startale Bond has been announced. But both developments show Japan building the products and infrastructure needed for digital money to play a larger financial role.
The Connections Extend Beyond Japan
In South Korea, MoonPay’s partnerships with KakaoBank, Woori Bank and KB Financial Group follow a similar approach: combining international crypto infrastructure with domestic financial institutions. The development programs cover remittances, stablecoin services and digital asset infrastructure, including a proposed KakaoBank test targeting transfers to U.S. bank accounts in under one hour.
Mesh is also pursuing global merchant payments. At TOKEN2049 Singapore on October 7, it announced a separate partnership with World Liberty Financial aimed at making USD1 spendable at millions of merchants worldwide. That describes the partnership’s intended reach, rather than confirmed adoption by millions of businesses.
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The common thread is practical: connecting digital assets to places where people already hold, receive and spend money. For the Japanese venture, the next test is turning its proposed connections into services customers can use.
Money is finding faster ways around the world. Now, if we could just get that New York–Tokyo flight down to two hours.
Reporting by Lidia Yadlos
