SBI Holdings owns 9% of Ripple Labs, not $10B in XRP
SBI Holdings doesn't own ₱580B ($10B) in XRP tokens. The Japanese financial giant holds a 9% equity stake in Ripple Labs itself, CEO Yoshitaka Kitao confirmed.
SBI Holdings doesn't own ₱580B ($10B) in XRP tokens. The Japanese financial giant holds a 9% equity stake in Ripple Labs itself, CEO Yoshitaka Kitao confirmed.
Kitao corrected widespread claims about SBI's XRP holdings, explaining the company owns more than 9% of Ripple Labs as equity — not direct token positions. That distinction matters because equity in Ripple Labs insulates SBI from daily XRP price swings while giving it a stake in the entire company ecosystem. Private market reports value Ripple Labs upwards of ₱2.9T ($50B), putting SBI's 9% slice at roughly ₱261B ($4.5B).
The CEO called Ripple Labs a "hidden asset" not fully reflected in SBI's book value. Kitao believes Ripple's ecosystem valuation should command a premium higher than current private market metrics show. SBI has partnered with Ripple since 2016, making it one of the blockchain company's most staunch allies for nearly a decade.
SBI announced Friday it's acquiring a majority stake in Coinhako, a regulated cryptocurrency exchange based in Singapore that holds a Major Payment Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The move builds what SBI describes as a digital asset corridor linking Japan and Southeast Asia.
This article was written based on reporting from U.Today.
