ChainCatcher News, Yoshitaka Kitao, CEO of the major Japanese financial services firm SBI Holdings, recently responded to a post celebrating XRP's rise to the sixth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization on X, stating that once the SEC issues are resolved, Ripple should prepare for an IPO as soon as possible.SBI Holdings has been collaborating with Ripple since 2017 to promote innovations in cross-border payments. Kitao has been a key figure in the Ripple-SBI partnership, joining Ripple's board in April 2019. His long-term support for Ripple and XRP dates back to 2017 when he predicted XRP as the global standard for digital currencies, emphasizing its efficiency, low transaction costs, and scalability.However, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has previously downplayed the urgency of seeking an IPO. He emphasized the company's strong financial position and stated that Ripple currently does not need to raise funds through the public markets. Additionally, Garlinghouse pointed out that the regulatory environment in the U.S. is challenging, largely influenced by the ongoing disputes with the U.S. SEC, which have hindered IPO plans. Although Ripple has explored the prospects of an international IPO, such initiatives remain on hold.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, Japan's SBI Digital Markets has strengthened its role in the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) "Project Guardian," launching a new pilot project aimed at promoting the application of tokenized securities in global markets.The Japanese SBI Group subsidiary is collaborating with financial institutions to develop a cross-border framework for tokenized assets, connecting regulated digital asset exchanges across multiple regions to enhance liquidity and reduce costs. The company announced on Monday that through its fixed income pilot project, SBIDM is creating an international network for securities backed by tokenized assets, covering initial issuance and secondary trading.

ChainCatcher News, Japanese listed company Metaplanet has partnered with financial services giant SBI Group's crypto division SBI VC Trade to support its ongoing efforts to increase its corporate Bitcoin holdings.This partnership allows Metaplanet to utilize SBI's custody services, aimed at prioritizing tax efficiency and providing the potential to use Bitcoin as collateral for financing.Metaplanet stated that as the company's funds grow, it will continue to explore financial instruments that offer greater "financial flexibility." Metaplanet has so far acquired 360 Bitcoins (worth $207 million), using its primary reserve asset as collateral to enhance its ability to secure equity and debt financing.

ChainCatcher news, according to cryptoslate, the blockchain platform Oasys, focused on the gaming industry, announced on August 29 that it has established a strategic partnership with the Japanese financial group SBI Holdings. This collaboration includes a financial investment from SBI Holdings, which will be used to increase the liquidity of Oasys's native OAS token and support the ongoing expansion of its blockchain ecosystem.The latest collaboration supports several blockchain-based games set to be released later this year. These games are being developed in partnership with well-known gaming companies such as SEGA and Ubisoft, which also serve as validators for the Oasys platform, aiming to create "AAA" level web3 games.

ChainCatcher News: Japanese game public chain Oasys developer double jump.tokyo announced that it has raised over $10 million in the first round of Series D financing, led by SBI Investment. Participating investors include Sony Group Corporation, Taisu Ventures, Gate Ventures, TM Capital, Inc., Bing Ventures Ltd., and a well-known entity that wishes to remain anonymous. The funds will be used to further develop and support blockchain games, blockchain infrastructure, and related services, while strengthening the company's organizational structure and talent base.The new round of financing will enhance the strategic partnership between double jump.tokyo and its investors. The company will deepen its collaboration with the SBI Group on Web3 services such as the NFT market and promote development on Sony Group's blockchain "Soneium" to expand Web3 content and services. A key focus for the company is the upcoming release of the blockchain game "Battle of Three Kingdoms," which is based on SEGA's popular IP "Sangokushi Taisen."

ChainCatcher news, Singapore's SBI Digital Markets (SBIDM) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea's KB Securities for the issuance of security tokens (STO). SBIDM is an indirect subsidiary of Japan's SBI Group, which is very active in the tokenization field. The two companies aim to leverage their ecosystems in Korea and global markets to explore the tokenization of real-world assets, particularly in Europe and Asia, where there is greater legal certainty.

ChainCatcher news, SBI Holdings will establish a management company primarily dealing with digital assets in partnership with asset management firm Franklin Templeton by the end of this year. The United States has lifted the ban on exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that include cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, and Japan is also preparing to relax regulations.The new company will be owned 51% by SBI Holdings and 49% by Franklin Templeton.

ChainCatcher news, SBI Digital Markets, the cryptocurrency division of Japanese securities and banking giant SBI Holdings, has appointed former Bank of Korea official Jai Yung Byun as chief advisor to expand its business in South Korea. Jai Yung Byun has held several leadership positions at the Bank of Korea, including head of the International Financial Policy Planning Team, director of Foreign Exchange Analysis and Research, and chief representative of the Bank of Korea's Washington D.C. office.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Japan's securities and banking giant SBI Holdings' crypto asset division, SBI Digital Asset Holdings, announced on Thursday a partnership with sports blockchain provider Chiliz to expand the sports fan token ecosystem in Japan.The two parties stated in a statement that they plan to establish a joint venture in the country to provide local fans with tokens from popular football clubs such as Manchester City and AC Milan.The statement said that the joint venture aims to provide Japanese fans with token-based sports experiences and rewards, including match day activations and voting rights on fan-related decisions. According to its website, Chiliz currently has 82 fan tokens and over 150 sports partners worldwide.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Ripple announced a strategic partnership with Tokyo consulting firm HashKey DX. As part of the collaboration, both parties will work with SBI Holdings and Ripple's joint venture SBI Ripple Asia to establish and launch supply chain finance solutions based on XRPL in Japan.

ChainCatcher news, the AI Web3 startup Bluwhale based in Silicon Valley announced the completion of a $7 million seed round financing. This round was led by SBI (including SBI Ven Capital and SBI Decima), with participation from Cardano, Momentum6, Primal Capital, NxGen, Ghaf Capital Partners, Spyre Capital, Baselayer Capital, Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner of Dragonfly, Charles Huang, founder of Guitar Hero, Jack McCauley, founder of Oculus, as well as collaborative funds from Animoca (Japan), Gumi, MZ Crypto, and others like Sygnum and Azimut.It is reported that Bluwhale was founded in 2022 by machine learning experts from Stanford and Berkeley, along with former TikTok AI senior personnel Adam Rowell and Han Jin, aiming to connect Web3 wallet holders with companies through AI technology, allowing dApps to directly reach their target audience and potential new users while optimizing their marketing expenditures. This initiative enables wallet holders to earn from advertising and promotional spending targeted at them. Bluwhale utilizes AI and contextual data to generate comprehensive profiles of Web3 individuals by analyzing on-chain behaviors, activities, and preferences, developing wallet roles and groupings, helping companies more accurately identify potential audiences, bringing transparency to the industry, and optimizing marketing/sales expenditures.As of now, 180 companies have registered to use its AI platform, which is currently in the public testing phase, having indexed over 2.7 million wallets.

ChainCatcher news, Japan's financial group SBI and energy company Saudi Aramco announced that they will explore potential cooperation in the fields of digital assets and semiconductors. SBI also stated that it plans to establish "SBI Middle East" in Riyadh as a base for its operations in the Middle East.SBI and Saudi Aramco will consider jointly investing in each other's digital asset portfolios. In addition, SBI will look for Japanese digital asset startups that wish to expand their business in Saudi Arabia, and they will jointly provide support.

ChainCatcher news, Circle announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan's financial group SBI Holdings to circulate USDC in Japan, establish banking relationships, and promote the use of Circle's Web3 services. SBI Shinsei Bank Limited will also provide banking services for Circle, enabling Japanese businesses and users to use USDC and gain liquidity.SBI Group will also adopt Circle's Web3 service solutions, such as programmable wallets, blockchain infrastructure, and smart contract management tools.

ChainCatcher news, the Web3 technology company BLOCKSMITH has announced that it has successfully completed its angel round of financing, attracting investments from SBI Group, Headline Asia, J-CAM Corporation, and others. Previously, 100% of the company's shares were held by its parent company KLab Inc. and founder Tetsuya Sanada. This is the company's first time bringing in external funding, and the financing is aimed at strengthening its financial position and preparing for an IPO. The funds raised will be used for product development, research, and other areas.It is reported that BLOCKSMITH has successful experience in blockchain development and operations, including providing "Captain Tsubasa - RIVALS -" to Thirdverse Group. In addition to developing blockchain games, the company also focuses on the research and development of related technologies, including the establishment of an AI laboratory and announcing a business collaboration with Facial Recognition Web3 Wallet in September 2023.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Standard Chartered's investment division SC Ventures and Japan's financial group SBI Holdings have collaborated to establish a $100 million cryptocurrency investment vehicle in the United Arab Emirates.The two companies announced on Thursday that they plan to invest in areas such as decentralized finance, tokenization, infrastructure, payments, and the metaverse through a joint venture, aiming to invest globally, covering seed rounds to Series C financing.

According to ChainCatcher news reported by CoinPost, Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings will start operating a fund to invest in Web3, AI, and metaverse startups within this year. Each investment is expected to range from hundreds of millions to over a billion yen, with a total of 150 to 200 companies being invested in. The entire fund is expected to reach a maximum scale of 100 billion yen (approximately 663 million USD).In addition, the fund will support local startups by inviting major Japanese banks and regional banks to invest, with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, Nippon Life Insurance, and Daiwa Securities Group having decided to invest over 50 billion yen in the fund.

ChainCatcher news reports that, according to Fintech Singapore, Japan's financial giant SBI Group's digital asset institution SBI Digital Markets and UBS Asset Management have completed the issuance and distribution technology pilot of a tokenized Variable Capital Company fund. This pilot is part of the Monetary Authority of Singapore's "Project Guardian," which aims to test the feasibility of asset tokenization and DeFi applications while managing risks to financial stability and integrity.SBI Digital Markets' next phase goal is to continue collaborating with a broader ecosystem of participants under Project Guardian to explore possible commercialization models for tokenized funds.