Ex-Ripple VP Who Built Japan’s XRP Strategy Launches $100M Fund With SBI

Published by

Zafar Naik

April 16, 2026

Ripple stablecoin RLUSD and XRP reserves

This week, Japan launched XRP payments for 44 million Rakuten users, proved XRP settles 60% cheaper than SWIFT in live bank pilots, and completed a regulated blockchain token platform. Now the person who built the Ripple-SBI partnership just raised $100 million to go further.

Emi Yoshikawa, former VP of Strategy and Operations at Ripple, has launched Across Ventures Fund I – a $100 million fund-of-funds backed by SBI Holdings as anchor limited partner.

All About Ex-Ripple VP Emi Yoshikawa

Yoshikawa spent eight years at Ripple. She led corporate strategy, international expansion, joint ventures, and the launch of Ripple’s ecosystem fund. She sat on the board of SBI Ripple Asia – the joint venture that became the foundation of XRP’s entire institutional presence in Japan.

SBI’s CEO was direct about why they backed her.

“We have built a strong relationship with Ms. Yoshikawa based on mutual trust since her time at Ripple, where she played a central role in successfully advancing strategic joint ventures with SBI Holdings,” the company said in its official announcement.

She founded Across Ventures in 2025, and SBI followed her there.

What the $100M SBI-Backed Fund Will Invest In

Across Ventures will invest as a fund-of-funds in specialized micro VCs across blockchain and fintech, AI and physical AI, climate tech, and deep tech.

The goal is specific: give Japanese corporations systematic access to early-stage Silicon Valley innovation that has historically been out of reach.

SBI’s role goes beyond capital. The firm will actively support deal sourcing and investment review, using its network across Asian banking and technology to add operational weight to the fund.

Ripple and Japan: What’s Being Built?

April 2026 has been a heavily concentrated month of XRP and XRPL institutional activity in Japan.

SBI Ripple Asia completed its XRPL token issuance platform and secured registration under Japan’s Payment Services Act on April 7. Japanese bank pilots at XRP Tokyo presented live proof that XRP cuts cross-border costs by up to 60% versus SWIFT. SBI launched a 10 billion yen blockchain bond paying investor rewards in XRP in February.

The network Yoshikawa helped build inside Ripple is expanding on every front simultaneously.

“Across Ventures is committed to building a platform for co-creating next-generation industries together with Japanese enterprises,” Yoshikawa said in the official announcement.

The $100 million fund is not a departure from the Ripple-SBI story. It is the next chapter of it, with Yoshikawa now operating from the outside, with her own capital, backed by the same institution she helped bring into the XRP ecosystem a decade ago.

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