March 31, 2026 just became a milestone date for XRP in Japan. SBI ARUHI — the largest mortgage lender within the SBI Group — has announced a new shareholder benefit program that pays rewards in XRP, marking a notable step toward integrating crypto into mainstream corporate payouts.
What happened
- At a March 12 board meeting, SBI ARUHI approved a shareholder benefits program that extends its tradition of dividends and profit returns by adding XRP as a payment option. The program goes into effect on Tuesday, March 31, 2026.
- Crypto analysts Xaif Crypto and ChartNerd flagged the move on X, suggesting it highlights XRP’s growing footprint in Japan and raising questions about the currency’s potential wider adoption in the country.
Who’s eligible and how much they’ll get
- Eligibility cutoff: Only shareholders listed in SBI ARUHI’s registry by March 31, 2026 qualify for the XRP benefits.
- Minimum holding: Shareholders must hold at least 100 shares to receive XRP.
- Payout schedule and amounts (paid in XRP, denominated in yen):
- 100–999 shares: 500 yen worth of XRP (no minimum holding period).
- 1,000+ shares: 500 yen worth of XRP if held less than one year; 1,000 yen worth of XRP if held more than one year.
- Continuous-holding qualification for large shareholders is tracked via registry dates: March 31, 2025; September 30, 2025; and March 31, 2026. Any change in the number of shares registered can affect eligibility.
How to claim
- Recipients must open a personal trading account with SBI VC Trade to receive the XRP payments.
- SBI ARUHI will distribute a detailed Shareholder Benefit Guide by mid-June that explains the application and claiming process.
Why it matters
- The move reinforces SBI Group’s long-standing connection to Ripple and XRP (including SBI Ripple Asia and SBI’s role as a major external investor in Ripple Labs), and it represents a rare example of a traditional finance company offering crypto directly as a shareholder perk.
- For crypto observers, the program is a concrete signal of growing institutional and retail-level integration of digital assets in Japan — though whether this presages broader mainstream adoption remains to be seen.
SBI ARUHI’s announcement blends shareholder reward policy with a broader push to raise awareness of the SBI Group and blockchain technology, making March 31 a date XRP holders in Japan will be watching closely.
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