Why Japan, the U.K., and Bolivia are doubling down on crypto

Major governments are no longer just weighing whether crypto can benefit their economies – they’re actively working toward building a digital, blockchain-based future. Japan is on the verge of passing landmark crypto legislation, the U.K. is looking to launch live tokenized markets next fall, and Bolivia could soon accept stablecoins as legal tender.

Here’s everything you need to know.

SBI Holdings wants to be Japan’s biggest crypto player

Japan’s parliament is on the verge of passing major crypto legislation, and some of the country’s leading financial firms are jockeying for positioning in the upcoming digital asset landscape. The bill would regulate crypto in the same way as stocks and drop the tax on gains to a flat 20% rate with the goal of fostering “healthy market growth” and promoting Japan as a major crypto hub.

One firm in particular, SBI Group, has been pushing to become a leading player in Japan’s crypto industry. The firm, which controls more than $250 billion in assets, was the sole investor in a $125 million fundraising round for the institutional DeFi startup Gauntlet last week; acquired the Japanese exchange Bitbank for around $289 million in June; and recently participated in funding rounds for Morpho and Circle’s stablecoin-focused blockchain, Arc. 

The company pointed to the imminent arrival of the “token economy” – where all assets are tokenized, and trading and payment settlement happens on blockchains – and says it “is working to establish itself as early as possible as a global leading company in the rapidly evolving digital asset space.” 

SBI also just launched a Japanese yen-denominated stablecoin that it plans to use for onchain currency trades, institutional lending, and settlement for tokenized assets. The firm is also distributing USDC in Japan in partnership with Circle through its subsidiary, Shinsei Bank, which is part of a JPMorgan-backed blockchain network focused on tokenized cross-border transactions.

Joseph Goh, director and head of Asia Pacific at crypto investment banking firm Areta, says SBI’s strategy is ambitious for a traditional financial group. "The takeaway is that SBI is not buying exposure to crypto, it is buying the plumbing of the next financial system,” he said. 

The U.K. wants to launch live tokenized markets in 2027

A recently released report backed by the U.K.’s Treasury found that a successful tokenization strategy could unlock more than $44 billion in economic output for the country and around $18 billion in additional tax revenue annually by 2035. The report, released by the government’s new digital-markets leader (officially known as “the Wholesale Digital Markets Champion”), argued that tokenization is beyond the experimentation phase and requires coordination from the government, regulators, and the private sector to ensure the U.K. has a position in the next generation of financial markets.

The report also named Ripple, the payments firm linked to the XRP token, as part of a task force driving the process of helping the U.K. move some of its financial markets onchain and cited Ripple’s partnership with Santander U.K. for cross-border payments as an example of a successful use-case.

BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan, Coinbase, and Morgan Stanley are among the firms working with the government on its tokenization strategy, with a goal of launching live with tokenized private credit, government bonds, and repo agreements by October 2027. 

Bolivia could integrate stablecoins into its national payments system

The South American country is considering adding stablecoins to its national payments system, allowing them to circulate alongside the boliviano, its fiat currency. The plan is still under review, but officials are also developing a framework for banks, payment providers and digital wallets, as well as stronger anti-money laundering controls. 

Bolivia has seen a sharp rise in crypto adoption after bank restrictions were lifted in 2024, with the central bank reporting that crypto transactions are up 630% since the removal of the restrictions. As U.S. dollars — which are often needed for international trade — become increasingly scarce in Bolivia, the state energy company, for example, announced last year it would be using crypto to pay for fuel imports. And the state controlled Banco Unión has started letting customers buy stablecoins to use for international payments or remittances. 

Overall, crypto adoption has skyrocketed in Latin America, largely due to its utility for cross-border transfers and payments. A report from this spring found the region, led by Brazil and Argentina, received more than $730 billion in crypto transaction volume last year, up 60% from the year prior and representing roughly 10% of all global crypto activity.