Sebastian Sinclair

SBI Remit, an international remittances subsidiary under Japan&#8217;s SBI Holdings, has expanded its services using Ripple&#8217;s XRP to bank accounts in the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia.



The move comes in partnership with SBI VC Trade, an affiliate within the SBI Group and San Francisco-based blockchain firm Ripple, the companies revealed Wednesday.&nbsp;



By leveraging XRP as a bridge currency, SBI Remit is hoping for quicker, more cost-effective money transfers, aiming to accelerate adoption in targeted markets, according to a translation of a <a href="https://www.sbigroup.co.jp/news/2023/0906_14052.html">statement</a>.



The operational framework for the newly expanded service will see SBI VC Trade executing real-time transfers of XRP in response to remittance requests initiated by SBI Remit.&nbsp;



To further its cross-border services, SBI Remit has entered into a partnership with Malaysia-based Tranglo, a cross-border payments provider, facilitating remittances in local fiat currencies.&nbsp;



SBI Remit aims to target Southeast Asian markets, where daily remittance volumes channeled into local bank accounts are considered to be a lucrative business.



Cross-border inflows across South Asia last year surged more than 12%, reaching $176 billion, fueled by robust labor markets in OECD host countries, according to the <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/06/13/remittances-remain-resilient-likely-to-slow">World Bank’s figures</a>.



SBI has utilized Ripple Payments, Ripple&#8217;s international money transfer system, to facilitate cross-border transactions since 2017. 



SBI Remit adopted XRP as a bridge within its Ripple Payments system in 2021, marking the first instance in Japan of utilizing crypto as a bridge between two distinct fiat currencies. 



Future expansion plans include a focus on corporate and inbound transactions, to be achieved through partnerships with Ripple and other fintech firms, SBI said.



A <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sbi-group-crypto-arm-wins-singapore-securities-license">crypto-focused subsidiary</a> of the Japanese financial services giant, seeking to expand its involvement in the industry, was granted a license last year to begin offering its securities to institutional clients in Singapore.



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SBI subsidiary expands XRP remittance use in Southeast Asia

Macauley Peterson

<div id="highlights-block_61559b81a94fc" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Fund to focus on blockchain infrastructure, DeFi and regulatory technology tools in Europe and Southeast Asia</li>
 <li>SBI estimated up to 10% of global GDP projected will be stored and transacted using DLT infrastructure by 2027</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Japan’s largest FinTech conglomerate, SBI Group, joins the world’s first digital asset bank Sygnum and Azimut Group a leading independent asset manager in Europe to launch a venture capital fund of up to $75 million which will invest in start-up companies in the digital asset sector.



The Singapore-incorporated fund, dubbed Variable Capital Company, aims to &#8220;accelerate the growth of promising companies in this sector, while providing qualifying investors with unrivalled access to the fast-growing digital asset economy,&#8221; according to <a href="https://www.insights.sygnum.com/post/sbi-sygnum-and-azimut-launch-a-digital-asset-sector-focused-venture-capital-fund" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a Sygnum press release</a>.



The investment strategy will focus on early stage start-ups developing blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT) infrastructure, decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions and regulatory technology tools.



This year has seen a tremendous <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/?s=funding" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">influx of funding into crypto</a>, Sygnum notes, through the first half of 2021 along, over $17 billion of investments have flooded the space including seven of the ten largest blockchain/DLT and cryptocurrency funding rounds of all time.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“DLT and digital assets are at the inflection point of mainstream adoption, and they have the potential to reduce inefficiencies and unlock new capabilities across several sectors, such as financial services and supply chain management,” said Ryosuke Hayashi, CEO and Managing Director of SBI Ven Capital.</blockquote>



Funds are almost routinely raising hundreds of millions of dollars to invest in new technology startups. Earlier this month, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/as-crypto-vc-funding-hits-record-high-pantera-launched-600m-fund/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pantera Capital announced</a> a new $600 million blockchain fund. In fact, Blockworks <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-venture-funding-is-at-an-all-time-high-this-is-where-the-money-is-going/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">previously reported</a> that crypto venture capital is at an all-time high.



Regulatory technology (or reg tech) is another major theme of the new fund. The trio of companies believes that increased oversight by regulators of the digital asset sector will require new tools for digital asset service providers and their clients.



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