Circle IPO prompts $50m investment from Japan’s SBI Holdings

Japanese banking firm SBI Holdings has announced a $50 million joint investment into Circle, following its recent $1.1 billion IPO.

According to the financial giant’s official press release, the total investment worth at least $50 million will be divided equally between SBI Holdings and its subsidiary SBI Shinsei Bank. Each entity will contribute $25 million each into the USDC (USDC)-stablecoin issuer.

The Japanese bank’s decision to invest in the stablecoin firm comes only a few days after the Jeremy Allaire-led company officially went public by listing on the New York Stock Exchange on June 5, 2025.

The company cited Circle’s IPO as one of the main reasons for the investment, adding that there was also a strong demands from institutional investors who insisted SBI Holdings should invest in the stablecoin firm.

As a result, SBI Holdings claimed it has acquired “one of the largest allocations of Circle shares.”

At press time, Circle’s shares have jumped by more than 2% compared to its previous closing price at around $115. It is currently valued at over $117, marking a significant 277% surge from its initial offering price at $31.

In a joint statement, SBI Holdings Chairman Yoshitaka Kitao and SBI Shinsei Bank CEO Katsuya Kawashima inferred that The SBI Group believes that by delving into digital assets, including crypto assets, they will be able to expand and satisfy the growing market demand for stablecoins and other assets.

”The SBI Group believes that digital assets, including crypto assets, will play a vital role in the future of the financial industry, and have been actively investing in and forming partnerships with promising companies in this field,” wrote the Japanese financial firm.

Before its $50 million-investment into Circle, SBI Holdings also invested in Ripple Labs in 2016. This led to the firm establishing a joint venture with Ripple called SBI Ripple Asia.

Last March 2025, SBI’s Venture Capital arm, SBI VC Trade, became the first firm in Japan to receive regulatory approval to handle stablecoins. It also became the first company to offer USDC to the public.

In order to accelerate USDC adoption in the Japanese market, both firms eventually agreed to establish a joint venture company, Circle SBI Japan KK.