SBI and Kyobo Life Test Yen to Won Settlement on Canton, Skipping the Dollar
A proof of concept that ran from July converted a token modelled on a yen stablecoin into one modelled on a won stablecoin, with no dollar leg. Only test tokens moved, and real use waits on Korean law.
Korean insurer Kyobo Life and Japan's SBI Group announced on 17 September 2026 that they had completed a proof of concept on the Canton Network for settling between yen and won without going through the US dollar. SBI Digital Practice, part of SBI Group, was the pilot partner, according to Herald Business. The test ran from July 2026.
What was tested
- The conversion. A token modelled on a yen stablecoin was converted into a token modelled on a won stablecoin.
- The scope. The test covered the cross-border transfer, the currency conversion and the settlement, with no US dollar leg in between.
- The money. Only test tokens in a test environment were used. No real money moved.
The companies say the approach shortened processing, lowered costs and allowed real-time tracking, and Kyobo Life says it is the first test of its kind by a Korean insurer. A Kyobo Life official said the pilot confirmed "the technical feasibility and efficiency" of the approach.
What stands in the way
Live use depends on Korea's Digital Asset Basic Act, which Herald Business says has been stalled in the National Assembly for more than a year. In August, Ledger Insights also noted that Korea's stablecoin law had not been finalised and that SBI's own yen stablecoin, JPYSC, was limited to SBI VC Trade.
Part of a wider SBI effort
The pilot is not SBI's only yen and won project on Canton. On 7 August, SBI Digital Practice, which describes itself as newly established to focus on Canton Network business, and Korea's Nodeinfra said they would enter a memorandum of understanding on the Musubi Project. It is planned as a member-owned cross-border payment network on Canton using stablecoins, with atomic payment-versus-payment settlement.
Its first testing phase also settles a yen-denominated test token against a won-denominated test token, with regulated stablecoins to follow as the Japanese and Korean frameworks allow.
Why it matters
Both projects aim to settle yen against won directly instead of passing through a dollar leg, which adds a conversion and a settlement step to each payment. A working model on Canton gives Japanese and Korean institutions a template for the day won stablecoins are allowed.
Until then, it remains a technical test. No commercial launch date, participating banks or won stablecoin issuer has been named for either project.
See the assets and pairs trading on Canton on Canton markets.
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