SBI Holdings Links XRP Weakness to Delayed U.S. CLARITY Act
In brief
- SBI Holdings' Ripple stake valued at $45 billion despite recent XRP weakness
- Director Nishikawa cites delayed U.S. CLARITY Act as factor in XRP's sluggish performance
- SBI crypto business posted 1.4 billion yen loss; B2C2 subsidiary remained profitable
- Bitbank acquisition completion planned for August with 3 million customer accounts expected
SBI's Ripple Exposure and Earnings
SBI Holdings' stake in Ripple was valued at approximately 6.6 trillion yen (about $45 billion) at the time of the earnings presentation. Director Yasuo Nishikawa, who was replacing CEO Yoshitaka Kitao for the presentation, said XRP's recent weakness appeared to coincide with uncertainty surrounding the U.S. CLARITY Act. The CLARITY Act, which has stalled in U.S. legislative proceedings, would clarify regulatory treatment of digital assets.
SBI reported first-quarter profit attributable to shareholders of 148.1 billion yen, nearly 2.5 times higher than a year earlier. The company's private equity business drove much of this growth. SBI's private equity business profit surged 328% year-over-year to 119.9 billion yen during the quarter.
Crypto Division Performance and Expansion Plans
SBI's cryptocurrency business posted a 1.4 billion yen pretax loss, though its global crypto market-making subsidiary B2C2 remained profitable. The loss reflects competitive pressures in the domestic crypto exchange market.
Looking ahead, SBI plans to complete its acquisition of Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Bitbank in August. SBI expects its combined crypto business to serve roughly 3 million customer accounts with approximately 870 billion yen ($5.9 billion) in assets under custody following the integration.
SBI and Ripple are promoting blockchain-powered payment solutions across the Asia-Pacific region. SBI launched support and lending services for the Japanese stablecoin JPYS as part of recent crypto-related initiatives.
