The Japanese investment giant and ripple partner SBI Holdings (SBI) has through its subsidiary SBI Crypto Investment Ltd. $ 15 million invested in blockchain smart card maker Tangem.
The Swiss fintech company Tangem introduced its “intelligent banknote” for digital assets last May. This is called the world’s first physical manifestation of digital assets. Tangem Notes allows users to carry Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and other digital assets with them. This allows physical transactions outside of the blockchain to give cryptocurrencies a cash-like quality. As with cash, the tangem touch belongs to the person who holds it. By exchanging the physical note or card, transactions are immediately validated and completed without fees.
Now, SBI has announced a $ 15 million investment.
Tangem Notes in circulation since 2018
The first million notes were issued in 2018. This year, a broader introduction is planned through automatic vending machines, ATMs, money changers and other retail outlets.
Yoshitaka Kitao, director, president and CEO of SBI, said:
“Tangem’s Hardware Wallet, which is very secure and affordable, is an important tool for mass acceptance of digital assets and blockchain. We believe that using Tangem will help boost demand for other blockchain services offered by SBI. ”
Kitao is well known in the crypto and ripple community. At the Japan Blockchain Conference in Tokyo in 2018, Kitao said he believes crypto will fuel Japan’s next big economic boom.
SBI first invested in the blockchain technology company Ripple in 2016. Both companies own and operate SBI Ripple Asia together. As one of Asia’s largest blockchain players, SBI has built an Internet-based financial ecosystem. The company is constantly expanding its digital assets with the goal of establishing acceptance of cryptocurrencies among a broad mass of the population.
Partnership between SBI and Ripple
SBI’s Crypto Exchange, VCTRADE, has been accepting deposits into Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple XRP since December. Trading is expected to start in March. This makes VCTRADE the first bank-backed, fully licensed crypto exchange for Japanese citizens. The trade pair used is the Japanese yen. This means that you can buy the offered crypto currencies like XRP and Bitcoin with Japanese Yen.
Interestingly, the first pair of traders were XRP and Yen, again demonstrating SBI’s commitment to Ripple. Back then, we reported on the cooperation between Ripple and SBI.
SBI is one of the largest and best-known financial institutions in Japan. It is considered positive for the acceptance of cryptocurrencies that such a company helps to proactively promote and support the ecosystem. Should cryptocurrencies such as Ripple XRP prevail over the coming years, this should have been a worthwhile investment for SBI.
Source: Pixabay