XRP is trading around $2, yet many investors believe this price still undervalues its long-term utility. As global adoption grows—especially by major financial institutions—the upside narrative for XRP continues to strengthen.
One region that could dramatically reshape XRP’s valuation is Japan, where Ripple and XRP already have deep-rooted connections across the banking and payments ecosystem.
Let’s break it down 👇
✨ Japan’s Massive Banking Industry
Japan operates one of the largest banking systems in the world by total assets.
🏦 Key Players
Japan’s financial sector ��s dominated by three megabanks:
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group
Mizuho Financial Group
Alongside them are:
~100 city & regional banks
~250 Shinkin cooperative banks
~13,500 domestic branches (as of Sept 2024)
🔹 Japanese banks control nearly 10% of global banking assets.
📊 By the Numbers (Bank of Japan Data)
Total bank assets (Nov 2024):
1,447 trillion yen (~$9.65 trillion)
Total deposits (Feb 2025):
1,047 trillion yen (~$6.98 trillion)
Estimated deposits (Nov 2025):
1,060–1,070 trillion yen
Ordinary deposits: ~650 trillion yen
Time deposits: ~225 trillion yen
📉 Loan-to-Deposit Ratios (Aug 2025):
Major banks: 40–50%
Regional banks: 50–60%
Shinkin banks: 60–70%
📈 Securities holdings:
300–350 trillion yen, ~40% of total assets
✨ XRP Price If All Japanese Banks Used It
With this scale, widespread XRP adoption as a bridge asset for settlements could significantly impact price.
To explore this, Google Gemini modeled an aggressive adoption scenario 👇
🔍 Gemini’s Hypothetical Model
Current XRP market cap: ~$120B (at ~$2)
Japanese bank assets: ~$9.65T
Assumption: XRP market cap reaches 10% of Japan’s banking asset base
💡 Result:
Projected market cap: ~$965B
Implied XRP price: ~$16.08
Upside from current levels: ~800% ?
⚠️ Gemini noted this is an extreme scenario, as settlement assets don’t directly mirror bank balance sheets. XRP would primarily support liquidity flows, not replace assets outright.
✨ XRP Is Already Embedded in Japan
This isn’t just speculation—XRP is already deeply integrated into Japan’s financial system.
🤝 Key Milestones
2016: Ripple partners with SBI Holdings to form SBI Ripple Asia
2016: SBI invests in Ripple’s $55M Series B
2016: Mizuho joins Ripple’s network
2017:
Launch of Japan Bank Consortium
61 banks joined, representing 80%+ of Japan’s banking assets
2018:
SBI launches VCTRADE, Japan’s first bank-backed crypto exchange
XRP becomes the flagship asset
2021:
SBI Remit launches Japan’s first XRP-powered remittance service
Live corridors include Japan → Philippines, powered by On-Demand Liquidity (ODL)
🔮 Final Thoughts
Japan isn’t a future possibility for XRP—it’s already happening.
If adoption expands from pilots to full-scale settlement usage, XRP’s valuation could reprice dramatically.
📌 While $16 XRP remains a hypothetical scenario, Japan’s banking alignment with Ripple makes it one of the strongest real-world adoption cases in crypto today.
