EGRAG CRYPTO says XRP-based on-demand liquidity could reduce foreign-currency prefunding, while Evernorth COO Meg Nakamura says Japanese banks remain cautious and may adopt blockchain more broadly as tokenization and regulatory clarity advance.
XRP could help Japan reduce one source of structural yen weakness by making cross-border payments more capital-efficient, crypto analyst EGRAG CRYPTO argued, though he said the token cannot solve the interest-rate dynamics behind the yen carry trade. His case centers on replacing foreign-currency prefunding with XRP-based on-demand liquidity so Japanese institutions can move money in seconds at low cost and potentially repatriate export revenues, investment income and remittances into yen more efficiently. That remains a theoretical and infrastructure-heavy proposition. The report notes that deep XRP-yen liquidity, clear regulation, licensed providers, custody solutions and banking integration would be required, and no large-scale Japanese integration is underway. Speaking separately at WebX Asia 2026 in Tokyo, Evernorth Chief Operating Officer Meg Nakamura said Japanese financial institutions see XRP's long-term potential but are stuck in a peer-validation cycle in which banks prefer pilots and limited collaborations until rivals move first. Nakamura said the discussion is broadening beyond payments and stablecoins toward tokenization, with assets such as government bonds, equities, real estate, private credit, commodities and funds increasingly seen as potential blockchain use cases. She said clearer legal frameworks are becoming a catalyst for development, and analysts cited Japan's relatively advanced digital-asset regulatory framework as a base for future adoption. For now, however, near-term yen trading is still expected to depend more on intervention risk, Federal Reserve expectations and Bank of Japan policy than on settlement technology.