SBI and Nodeinfra Sign Deal to Bypass Dollar in Japan-Korea Trade via Canton Network

Japan's SBI Digital Practice and South Korea's Nodeinfra have launched Project Musubi, an initiative to establish a direct blockchain-based settlement corridor for yen and won trades. By utilizing the Canton Network's atomic payment-versus-payment architecture, the project aims to eliminate the need for US dollar intermediaries, which currently impose significant conversion fees and settlement delays on cross-border transactions. The current correspondent banking model forces trades through multiple hops, incurring costs of $15 to $30 per intermediary and foreign exchange markups of up to 3 percent. Furthermore, the project addresses Herstatt risk by ensuring simultaneous finality, where the yen and won legs of a transaction settle at the exact same moment or not at all. While the technical infrastructure is being built using Daml smart contracts, the commercial viability of the project depends on South Korea's National Assembly passing the Digital Asset Basic Act to authorize regulated won-denominated stablecoins. SBI Digital Practice is leveraging its role as a Canton Network Super Validator to integrate Japanese financial systems, while Nodeinfra manages the development of the settlement protocol for Korean institutions. This initiative represents a significant shift toward institutional-grade, blockchain-native cross-border payments that bypass traditional correspondent banking structures.