Japan's SBI Shinsei Bank plans crypto rewards program for depositors this fall: Nikkei

SBI Shinsei Bank, the banking arm of Japan's SBI Group, plans to launch a cryptocurrency rewards program for depositors this fall, according to Nikkei.

Under the program, deposit customers are set to receive vouchers worth 20% of their deposit interest payments, which can be redeemed for cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), and XRP (XRP), the report said.

The initiative aims to introduce banking customers to SBI Group's crypto exchange business, SBI VC Trade. Customers will be required to open an SBI VC Trade account before redeeming the vouchers, per the report.

The bank also plans to run a three-month pilot starting June 10, covering ordinary savings accounts as well as time deposits with maturities ranging from three months to five years, according to local crypto news outlet Coinpost. Specifically, a 300,000 yen ($1,872) deposit would earn roughly 500 yen ($3) worth of vouchers, while those depositing 30 million yen ($187,288) or more would receive vouchers worth 20,000 yen ($125).

The Block has reached out to SBI Shinsei Bank and SBI VC Trade for comment.

The move comes as SBI Group continues expanding its crypto and blockchain initiatives. Last month, SBI Chairman and President Yoshitaka Kitao said that SBI Holdings has entered into preliminary talks to acquire shares in Bitbank, which operates one of the major domestic crypto exchanges in Japan.

In May, SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities were reportedly developing crypto investment trusts in-house with plans to sell them directly to retail investors. Earlier this year, SBI Holdings teamed up with Startale Group to co-develop a new blockchain purpose-built for onchain stocks, and unveiled JPYSC, a trust bank-backed Japanese yen stablecoin.