SBI Holdings’ crypto arm, SBI VC Trade, is rolling out a USDC lending product in Japan, enabling retail users to lend Circle’s stablecoin to the platform under fixed-term agreements in exchange for interest. The offering limits per-user exposure to 5,000 USDC, with the loan treated as an asset to SBI VC Trade rather than a traditional bank deposit. As such, customers bear counterparty risk, and funds cannot be withdrawn or transferred during the fixed term. SBI noted that borrowed USDC may be re-lent as part of its operational use.

The launch represents another step in Japan’s ongoing stablecoin rollout, bringing a consumer-accessible USDC yield product to market via a licensed domestic platform. While the product offers yield relative to typical cash deposits, it carries different protections and risk profiles compared with traditional deposits, a distinction SBI emphasized in its communication with users.

Key takeaways

• SBI VC Trade introduces a USDC lending product in Japan, offering fixed-term yields to retail users with a maximum of 5,000 USDC per offering.
• Participants lend USDC directly to SBI VC Trade, meaning they assume counterparty risk rather than enjoying bank-like deposit protections.
• Funds are not withdrawable or transferable during the fixed term, and SBI may re-lend the borrowed USDC as part of its operations.
• The move aligns with Japan’s broader strategy to expand stablecoin use, building on regulatory approvals that allowed a full-scale USDC launch in March 2025 and related partnerships to promote USDC adoption.
• Past milestones include a Circle joint venture announced in August to widen USDC usage in Japan and a December agreement with Startale to explore a yen-denominated stablecoin for tokenized assets and cross-border settlement.

A new yields channel within Japan’s stablecoin push

According to SBI VC Trade, the new USDC lending product is designed as a fixed-term loan to the trading platform. Retail users who participate will receive periodic interest payments, with the caveat that their principal remains tied up for the term’s duration. The 5,000 USDC cap per offering provides a practical limit intended to balance retail participation with the platform’s liquidity management.

From SBI’s perspective, the arrangement enables the company to monetize borrowed USDC through its business operations, which could include further lending or other use of the stablecoin within its ecosystem. For users, the arrangement differentiates itself from a traditional bank deposit by not offering typical deposit protections or insurance and by introducing explicit counterparty risk. The lack of withdrawal or transfer capability during the term further underscores the product’s fixed nature and the need for careful risk assessment by potential participants.

Japan’s evolving stablecoin landscape and SBI’s strategic cadence

Japan’s stablecoin framework has gradually matured over the past year, with USDC receiving regulatory clearance to operate as a fully licensed dollar stablecoin in the country. Circle announced that approval enabled USDC to be used as a fully approved global dollar stablecoin in Japan, marking a notable policy shift toward formalized stablecoin use in consumer and business finance.

In parallel with the USDC licensing progress, SBI has been advancing its broader stablecoin strategy. The firm previously disclosed plans in November to pursue a USDC lending product and to explore exchange-traded fund (ETF) offerings via its domestic network. The trajectory continued with a March 2025 milestone: SBI VC Trade launched a full-scale USDC service in Japan after receiving regulatory clearance earlier in the month, signaling a more formalized entry of USDC into Japan’s financial fabric.

Additionally, SBI’s collaboration slate includes notable partnerships aimed at expanding USDC utility in Japan. In August, SBI announced a joint venture with Circle to accelerate USDC adoption and develop new use cases for the stablecoin within the Japanese market. Later in December, SBI partnered with Startale to develop a regulated yen-denominated stablecoin intended for tokenized assets and settlement on a global scale, with a planned launch in 2026’s second quarter. These developments illustrate SBI’s multi-pronged approach to integrating stablecoins into everyday finance and cross-border settlement workflows.

What this means for users and the market

For retail participants, the new lending product offers a structured pathway to earn interest on USDC holdings, presenting a tangible yield option beyond cash equivalents. However, the fixed-term and counterparty-risk profile differ from traditional deposits. Users should weigh the potential yield against the absence of typical bank protections and the inability to react to market shifts during the term.

From a market perspective, the move reinforces Japan’s position as a testing ground for regulated stablecoins with consumer-facing products. It also underscores SBI’s ongoing commitment to expanding stablecoin infrastructure and use cases—aligning with regulatory clearances and partnerships that broaden USDC’s reach in Japan. For traders and builders, the evolving framework highlights a growing ecosystem where stablecoins can be leveraged beyond transfers and payments, into yield-bearing and asset-financing structures that require robust risk disclosures and clear regulatory alignment.

As SBI continues to expand its stablecoin footprint, observers will be watching for further details on risk management, liquidity provisions, and protection measures for users in future offerings. Market participants will also be keen to see how other licensed players in Japan respond—whether more fixed-term lending or yield-bearing products emerge, and how these services interact with evolving regulatory expectations and consumer protections.

Overall, SBI VC Trade’s USDC lending pilot reflects a broader shift toward productized stablecoin utilities in regulated markets, where consumer access to yields sits alongside explicit risk disclosures and the necessity for strong counterparty governance. The coming months should reveal how this model scales and how users balance return opportunities with the attendant risk framework in one of the world’s most scrutinized crypto jurisdictions.

Since the Iran war began, the market narrative has been simple: the oil spike, inflationary impulse and wider market volatility will be temporary and die down once the conflict halts, allowing central banks to grease the economy and markets with easy money, as they have consistently done post-2008.

But there is a counter view that says scars from the Iran war will persist for long in the form of a structurally elevated global inflation floor. This could impact returns across all asset classes, including stocks, crypto and bonds.

The answer to that lies in the biggest takeaway from the Iran war: energy markets are fragile, and major economies are exposed to oil price spikes and energy supply disruptions.

For decades, several countries, including major economies, relied on global energy supply chains, price-driven markets, and comparative advantage. That model worked, but it has now crumbled amid the latest disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, which has led to massive energy shortages across the world, including in major economies like India, Japan and South Korea. If the conflict drags on, eventually countries like China, which have sizeable reserves, could suffer too, including the supposedly energy-independent U.S.

The result: Going forward, every nation is likely to make energy independence and security central to its national security strategy.

According to Energy Market Expert Anas Alhajji, this trend will trigger rapid de-globalisation of energy markets, prioritising control over cost and breeding sticky inflation.

“Once that mindset takes hold, global energy markets will never return to the old model of open, price-driven, largely commercial trade. Instead, capitalist economies—historically reliant on market efficiency, global supply chains, and comparative advantage—will increasingly mirror the Chinese approach: heavy state direction, strategic stockpiling, vertical integration, subsidies for domestic champions, and prioritization of self-reliance/control over pure cost minimization,” he said in an explainer on X.

He added that most nations lack China’s centralized supply chain, industrial base, and decision-making, which could result in slower innovation, fragmented markets, and higher costs.

“The result: higher costs, slower innovation in some areas, fragmented markets, and reduced overall efficiency for Western-style economies, all in the name of ‘security.’ Energy stops being just another commodity; it becomes a geopolitical weapon and a domestic fortress,” he noted.

In other words, the impact of the Iran war goes beyond the short-term oil price volatility.

There are already signs of widespread fallout, affecting everything from fertilisers and food production to industrial production and perhaps even chipmaking and the semiconductor industry, as the disruption in the Hormuz Strait chokes off supplies of helium and sulfur, which are crucial to chipmaking.

On top of that, the UN has already warned of higher food prices worldwide.

Impact on assets

All this means is that central banks may no longer have the room they once had to turn on the liquidity tap quickly to support the economy and asset prices.

From 2008 to 2021, the global consumer price index (CPI) or inflation rate averaged under 3% (briefly rising to 8% in 2022, only to fall back to 3% in 2024), according to data source St. Louis Fed. This allowed central banks, including the Fed, BOJ and others, to pursue ultra-easy monetary policies that set interest rates at or below zero, and pump liquidity via aggressive bond buying or quantitative easing, fueling epic gains across all markets. Bitcoin, for one, went from a single-digit dollar-denominated price in 2011 to $126,000 in October last year.

But with an expected structurally higher inflation floor, that paradigm shifts. Central banks can no longer assume they can always cut rates to drive growth. Liquidity could be more constrained, capping returns across asset classes.

The message is clear: Investors should brace for a world where inflation is sticky, monetary policy is less accommodative, and market volatility is the new normal.

Solana price fell 4% on Wednesday, moving closer towards the $90 support amid a broader market downturn triggered by hotter than expected U.S. PPI data.

According to data from crypto.news, Solana (SOL) price fell to an intraday low of $90.4, bringing its market cap lower to $51.6 billion.

The 7th largest crypto asset by market capitalization slipped after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed data that showed hotter than expected inflation at the producer level. Notably, PPI rose by 0.6% in February while core PPI climbed 0.3%, both figures overshooting economist forecasts and signaling persistent inflationary pressures.

The data comes just ahead of the Federal Reserve rate cut decision scheduled for 2:30 P.M. today, where the market largely expects the Fed to hold interest rates steady. Odds of a pause are as high as 99% on the CME Fed Watch tool.

The Fed is also likely to delay any rate cuts this year, especially with surging oil prices which came as a result of a blockade at the Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S.-Iran war.

Despite the bearish market scenario, there remains a few key fundamental metrics that could support Solana price action. Notably, the total stablecoin supply on the Solana network hit a record high of around $15.7 billion earlier this week.

A strong stablecoin supply means there is significant sidelined capital ready to buy the dip and often precedes a period of high liquidity and buying pressure.

Adding to this, spot Solana ETFs have continued to record back-to-back inflows for the sixth straight week, drawing in over $127 million in the funds.

Solana price analysis

On the daily chart, Solana price has respected an ascending trendline that has been serving as a dynamic support since early February this year.

Technical indicators like the MACD lines have pointed upwards, while the Aroon Up at 85.71% stood significantly higher above the Aroon Down.

Hence, Solana price could rebound back above the $90 support even if it were to drop temporarily due to the ongoing market downtrend observed at press time. 

However, a drop below $80, the next key psychological support level, could invalidate the current bullish structure and lead to a deeper correction.

At press time, SOL price was trading at $89, down over 5% on the day.

Canada’s FINTRAC has yanked 23 crypto MSBs from its registry in a single sweep, escalating an AML crackdown that now targets exchanges, ATMs and offshore operators alike.

Canada’s financial intelligence agency delivered its most sweeping single-day enforcement action against the cryptocurrency sector on Tuesday, revoking the registrations of 23 money services businesses (MSBs) offering crypto-related services in one coordinated move. The action by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FINTRAC) represents a significant escalation in Ottawa’s campaign to bring virtual currency operators into line with the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework.

All 23 of the affected businesses are registered as MSBs under Canada’s Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA), and all offer cryptocurrency-related services. Two of the companies have no physical presence in Canada: Finax, operating out of Bratislava, Slovakia, and Commerce Plex, registered in Luton, England — both of which also provide currency exchange and money transfer services alongside crypto. According to FINTRAC’s official website, grounds for revocation include failure to respond to information requests in a timely manner, non-compliance with registration eligibility conditions, failure to update relevant records, and prior convictions related to money laundering or terrorist financing.

The mass revocation did not emerge in a vacuum. In February 2026, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne wrote directly to FINTRAC’s director ordering the agency to “mobilize resources” in response to the serious threat posed by illicit finance — explicitly calling on the Centre to take “immediate action” in supporting law enforcement partners and financial institutions. On Tuesday, Champagne characterised the enforcement sweep as a “significant acceleration of enforcement pace,” adding that the government would “continue to maintain this momentum”.

The minister’s public statement left little ambiguity about the government’s broader intent: “Our government will continue to monitor and pursue new measures to address risks posed by virtual currency businesses, such as cryptocurrency MSBs and crypto ATMs, which can be used to facilitate money laundering and fraud.”​

The action follows a string of high-profile FINTRAC enforcement decisions against crypto operators. In October 2025, FINTRAC levied a C$176.9 million administrative monetary penalty against Xeltox Enterprises Ltd., operating as Cryptomus — the largest fine in the agency’s history — for 2,593 separate violations of the PCMLTFA, including failure to report over 1,500 large virtual currency transactions and repeated breaches of federal directives requiring the reporting of transactions linked to Iran. That case, according to law firm Bennett Jones, “highlights the regulatory perils that face cryptocurrency exchanges that operate in Canada outside the law”.

FINTRAC’s mandate covers a broad swathe of the financial sector. Registered MSBs handling crypto are required to implement customer due diligence, submit transaction reports, maintain records, and establish written AML compliance frameworks approved by senior management. Failure to comply can result in administrative penalties, removal from the MSB registry, or in the most serious cases, criminal exposure.​

Canada has for several years positioned itself as a jurisdiction that treats virtual asset services as an integral part of its AML-regulated financial sector — with crypto exchanges required to register and comply at the federal level since June 2020. But Tuesday’s mass revocation suggests that Ottawa’s appetite for enforcement is moving beyond isolated penalties toward systemic sweeps. With crypto ATMs, cross-border operators, and foreign-registered entities explicitly named as priorities, the message from FINTRAC and the Finance Ministry is unambiguous: registration alone is no longer sufficient cover for those unwilling to meet Canada’s compliance bar.

Netflix has rounded out the main cast of its upcoming FTX collapse drama The Altruists, revealing six actors who have been chosen to appear alongside Julia Garner’s Caroline Ellison and Anthony Boyle’s Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF).

The series will reportedly cover the massive growth of SBF’s crypto exchange between 2019 and 2021 and its spectacular collapse in 2022 which wiped billions of dollars from the crypto market. 

Netflix says the series will follow SBF and Ellison, “two hyper-smart, ambitious young idealists who tried to remake the global financial system in the blink of an eye… before they were accused of stealing $8 billion.”

Here are the major cast members announced so far. 

Changpeng Zhao 

Terry Chen will be playing the role of Changpeng Zhao. 

Chen starred in the 2000 comedy Almost Famous and played a corrupt Chinese businessman in season two of House of Cards. The 51-year-old will be stepping into the shoes of SBF’s biggest rival. 

Read more: Binance probed by DoJ, files lawsuit against WSJ

Zhao and SBF met on occasions during FTX’s heyday, but Zhao would later contribute to the firm’s collapse when he announced that his crypto exchange Binance would liquidate the FTX-linked asset “FTT.”

Dr. George Lerner

William Mapother will be playing the role of FTX’s company therapist, Dr. George Lerner. 

Lerner was SBF’s psychiatrist during the FTX years and was tasked with coaching 100 of the firm’s employees through its most chaotic period. Some employees reportedly wouldn’t share everything they knew with Lerner out of fear that SBF would find out. 

Mapother’s character reportedly “knew SBF best,” and would help him to explore his “seeming rejection of earthly pleasures.” 

Mapother has previously starred in the TV series Lost, and is known for his work in The Mentalist, and In The Bedroom. He is also Tom Cruise’s cousin, and co-founded the film financing firm Slated.   

Sarah Fisher Ellison

Dirty Dancing and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off star Jennifer Grey has been cast to play Caroline Ellison’s mother, Sarah Fisher Ellison.

Ellison is a senior lecturer at the MIT Department of Economics, who, alongside her husband, struggled to grasp the damage their daughter caused while working for FTX and pleaded for leniency in her sentencing. 

Duncan Rheingans-Yoo

Canadian actor Hudson Williams shot to fame in the hit hockey series Heated Rivalry, and will play the role of Duncan Rheingans-Yoo. 

Read more: Sam Bankman-Fried was planning Tucker Carlson interview for years

Rheingans-Yoo co-founded crypto trading firm Modulo Capital, which received $475 million from FTX shortly before the exchange collapsed. Fellow co-founder Lily Zhang will be played by Marianna Phung, who starred in the series Poly is the New Monogamy.

A bankrupt FTX would later claw back $460 million from the firm. 

Sam Bankman-Fried

The most important role in the series goes to Anthony Boyle, who will play FTX’s curly-haired CEO. 

Boyle has starred in House of Guinness, Manhunt, Say Nothing, and featured in the Tolkien and Tetris movies. 

SBF oversaw the operation that misappropriated billions of dollars worth of customer funds and used them to make investments through FTX’s sister firm, Alameda Research.  

These days, SBF is spending his days serving out a 25-year sentence in jail while trying, and failing, to secure a pardon from US President Donald Trump. 

Read more: Sam Bankman-Fried begs Trump for pardon, gets bipartisan ‘No’

Caroline Ellison

Starring alongside Boyle will be Julia Garner, playing the role of SBF’s romantic partner and former FTX exec, Caroline Ellison. 

Ellison and SBF worked together at trading firm Jane Street before the pair moved on to FTX. Ellison helped SBF grow his empire until it collapsed and she would later testify against him in court.  

She said that for the duration of their relationship, SBF was her boss. At one court trial, she claimed, “I wanted more from our relationship but often felt he was distant or not paying much attention to me.”

Garner recently starred in the Oscar-nominated horror Weapons, and is known for her work in Ozark, Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps, and The Assistant.

Read more: When will FTX customers get their money back?

Lucy and Hannah

Playing the unknown characters of Lucy and Hannah are Hannah Galway and Elizabeth Adams. 

Galway is known for her work on Billy the Kid and The Institute, while Adams is known for The Wayward and Trouble in Suburbia. It’s not clear how their characters fit into the FTX saga.

FTX execs 

Other roles that have already been cast include a number of former FTX executives.

Among them are former Alameda Research CEO, Sam Trabucco, who’ll be played by Andor and Alien Earth star Alex Lawther. Trabucco resigned before the collapse of FTX and seemingly disappeared, leading to rumours that he was on the run. 

Another prominent exec who will be featured is Ryan Salame, who’ll be played by Matt Rife. The former FTX exec used customer funds to help build SBF’s political influence through illegal political donations. 

1inch, the decentralized exchange aggregator with about $3 million in total value locked (TVL), has launched 1inch Forward, a DeFi education campaign across universities in the United States. According to a press release shared with The Defiant, the initiative was unveiled today, March 18, at the DC Blockchain Summit and is aimed at preparing students for a future career in decentralized finance.

Central to the campaign is an open letter to the deans and faculty councils of major U.S. business and law schools, co-signed by more than twenty crypto and DeFi organizations including the Blockchain Association, DeFi Education Fund, Aave Labs, Messari, Delphi Digital, and ETHGlobal.

The letter argues that DeFi and the tech behind it has long moved past its experimental phase — adopted by BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, JPMorgan, and the NYSE itself — yet most curricula still treat the subject as a fringe elective.

The coalition proposes four additions: blockchain architecture and decentralized technology applications as a core module; instruction on DeFi mechanisms like automated market makers and smart contract risk; digital asset regulatory frameworks; and hands-on engagement with live DeFi systems and on-chain data.

The broader 1inch Forward campaign also includes a campus tour of several institutions starting on March 27 at the University of Pennsylvania, with stops at Yale, Cornell Tech, Indiana University, Harvard, Stanford, and the University of Michigan across 2026 — featuring panels, mentorship, and one-on-one career sessions with 1inch staff.

Blockchain Job Searches Surge

1inch’s own analysis of Google search data, also included in today’s announcement, shows rapidly growing U.S. workforce interest in the space.

Comparing data from the past two years, searches for “Blockchain Jobs” rose 84% year-on-year, while “Crypto Jobs” more than doubled at +133%. At the specialist end, “DeFi Developer Jobs” searches nearly quadrupled, up 269%, and “Learn Blockchain Skills” climbed 44%.

“The 84% surge in blockchain job searches shows the next generation is already looking toward careers in the future of finance,” said 1inch co-founder Sergej Kunz.

The campaign lands as DeFi’s institutional footprint has become impossible to ignore. As The Defiant reported previously, 2025 marked a turning point for crypto adoption among TradFi institutions, with BlackRock, JPMorgan and others all launching on-chain products — including BlackRock bringing its $3B BUIDL fund directly into DeFi.

With analysts flagging 2026 as the year DeFi goes fully mainstream, the question 1inch and the broader coalition of leading DeFi companies is placing before academia is how prepared U.S. graduates will be for the shift.

This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.