SBI CEO’s 2026 Address: Ripple Emerges as Key Profit Driver for Financial Giant

SBI Group's CEO just dropped a bombshell in his annual address—Ripple isn't just a partnership anymore, it's become a core profit engine for one of Japan's largest financial conglomerates. The revelation signals a tectonic shift in how traditional finance views blockchain infrastructure.

From Experiment to Revenue Center

Remember when banks treated crypto partnerships like science projects? Those days are gone. SBI's CEO outlined how Ripple's payment corridors and XRP-powered settlements have moved from pilot phase to profitability—cutting transaction times from days to seconds and bypassing legacy correspondent banking fees that have padded Wall Street's bottom line for decades. The numbers speak for themselves: double-digit growth in cross-border transaction volume directly attributed to the Ripple integration.

The Institutional Tipping Point

This isn't about retail speculation. SBI's pivot represents institutional validation at the highest level—when a financial giant regulated by Japan's FSA publicly credits a cryptocurrency protocol for driving profits, the narrative shifts permanently. Other Asian banks are already scrambling to replicate the model, creating a domino effect across the region's $50 trillion financial markets.

What the Skeptics Miss

Traditional analysts keep asking 'where's the use case?' while ignoring that profitable use cases are already operating at scale. The real story isn't whether blockchain works—it's that the first movers who integrated it properly are now reaping competitive advantages their slower peers can't match. Another quarter like this, and Ripple's enterprise adoption might start looking less like a niche solution and more like the new plumbing of global finance.

Of course, watching traditional bankers finally acknowledge that cutting out middlemen actually increases profits does make you wonder what took them so long—maybe those marble lobbies are thicker than we thought.

TLDR

• SBI Holdings CEO Yoshitaka Kitao confirmed that Ripple now plays a major role in the company’s profitability.
• Kitao stated that the cryptocurrency ecosystem is a central part of the group’s financial performance in 2026.
• The CEO referred to his 2018 statement where he emphasized blockchain as a key technology for the next decade.
• SBI Holdings first invested in Ripple during its Series B funding round in 2016.
• The company launched SBI Ripple Asia in 2016 to expand Ripple’s blockchain solutions across Japan and Asia.

SBI Holdings’ CEO Yoshitaka Kitao confirmed that Ripple has become a key driver of the company’s earnings in 2026, stating in his New Year’s address that the cryptocurrency ecosystem plays a direct role in the financial group’s current profitability and reflects the success of a strategy outlined years earlier, which now underpins the group’s performance.

Ripple Investment Now Core to SBI Holdings’ Financial Performance

SBI Holdings’ longstanding alliance with Ripple is now delivering strong financial returns. CEO Yoshitaka Kitao stated this during his annual address on Monday. He described Ripple’s role as a major pillar of the group’s revenue base.

“Needless to say, it is these fields that currently play a part as a pillar of the SBI Group‘s earnings,” he said. He was referring to both Ripple and broader cryptocurrency initiatives. The statement reflects years of strategic alignment with blockchain and digital asset technologies.

Kitao referenced his 2018 speech where he emphasized AI and blockchain.

“We must devote our full efforts to building a cryptocurrency ecosystem,” he said back then. In 2026, he affirmed, “And we have done exactly that.”

北尾吉孝日記を更新しました。 『年頭所感』 – https://t.co/Wcw7LiSM0R pic.twitter.com/g2m00mObwW

— 北尾吉孝 (@yoshitaka_kitao) January 5, 2026

SBI Holdings joined Ripple’s Series B funding in 2016. This early investment laid the foundation for a broader collaboration. That same year, the two firms launched SBI Ripple Asia.

The venture aimed to roll out Ripple’s blockchain-powered payments in Japan and Asia. It targeted institutional banking clients. The initiative marked SBI’s deepening commitment to blockchain-based solutions.

In 2018, the launch of MoneyTap advanced this vision. The mobile app enabled real-time domestic payments. Over 60 Japanese banks integrated with the service.

Ripple’s DLT powered the MoneyTap platform. It enhanced transaction speed and reliability. The product marked Ripple’s first consumer-facing application in Japan.

SBI Maintains Ripple Support During Regulatory Challenges

SBI’s commitment to Ripple remained unchanged during regulatory scrutiny. When the U.S. SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple in 2020, SBI reaffirmed its support. The company declared XRP was not a security under Japanese law.

At the time, Kitao replaced Takashi Okita on Ripple’s board. This MOVE strengthened the company’s leadership role in the partnership. SBI’s stance remained consistent throughout the legal developments.

In recent years, SBI integrated the XRP Ledger into its wider financial infrastructure. The company expanded XRP’s role beyond payments. It explored XRPL’s use in tokenization and banking tools.

Kitao’s latest statements confirm Ripple’s importance. The strategy, developed over ten years, now delivers direct returns. Ripple remains a central part of SBI Holdings’ operations.