SBI Holdings Launches Tokenized Bonds with XRP Rewards to Investors

• SBI Holdings announced to issue security token bonds for individual investors from March 25
• Domestic Investors subscribing to the bonds will receive XRP as a benefit.

SBI Holdings, a long-time partner and investor in Ripple, is launching Japan’s first tokenized security bonds for individual investors with payments partly in XRP to expand access to digital finance and blockchain-based investments.

The announcement, which was released on February 20, was from SBI Holdings, which will issue security token (ST) bonds, totaling ¥10 billion, or around $65 billion, are scheduled to be handled on the proprietary trading system (PTS) “START”, which is operated by Osaka Digital Exchange, and will be available from March 25.

Also, SBI holdings explained that instead of utilizing Japan’s traditional securities settlement processes, it will administer and settle the bonds exclusively on the blockchain network through a blockchain platform “ibet for Fin,” led by BOOSTRY. Further, it explains that domestic customers, who include individuals and corporations who acquire the ST Bonds, will receive XRP in an amount corresponding to their subscription amount as a benefit. 

In addition, SBI Group has been advancing the integration of traditional financial services into on-chain environments through tie-ups, fund investments, and proof-of-concept initiatives, and the Group has been steadily building the necessary infrastructure.

The announcement follows the recent claims that SBI Holdings holds of $10 billion in XRP, for which the SBI Holdings CEO Yoshitaka Kitao explained that Ripple owns  9% stakes of Ripple Labs rather than directly holding XRP coins. But, now they have come up with the idea of paying investors in XRP coin, which may suggest that it holds a reserve of the coin.

XRP Price Update

While writing the article, XRP is trading at $1.44, up about 2.32% in the last 24 hours, and the trading volume for the day has surged over 4%.  Still, it is trading down over 2.18% from the past week and 26.3% down over a month due to wider market conditions and uncertainty, as per the CoinMarketCap data.