- SBI Holdings and SC Ventures collaborate for a $100 million digital asset joint venture in the UAE.
- The joint venture will concentrate on infrastructure, risk and compliance tools, DeFi, tokenization, consumer payments, and the metaverse.
- SBI Holdings is also set to launch a 100 billion yen fund for Japan-based tech startups focusing on Web3 and AI.
Leading Japanese financial services group SBI Holdings has entered a multimillion-dollar alliance with SC Ventures, the innovation and venture arm of Standard Chartered, to form a digital asset joint venture in the United Arab Emirates.
SC Ventures announced this development in a statement on its official website. Per the announcement, the joint venture will concentrate on a broad spectrum of digital asset investments with an initial capital injection of $100 million. The focus includes market infrastructure, risk and compliance tools, decentralized finance (DeFi), tokenization, consumer payments, and the metaverse.
Alex Manson, CEO of SC Ventures, highlighted the venture’s strategic importance in tapping into the evolving global digital asset ecosystem. He cited SC Ventures’ extensive experience with digital assets through ventures such as Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets and investments in firms like Ripple and Metaco.
The report cited that in May 2023, Standard Chartered signalled its commitment to crypto through a memorandum of understanding with the Dubai International Financial Centre. The memorandum focused on areas like digital asset custody. Meanwhile, in the same month, SC Ventures’ exited its investment in Metaco, which Ripple subsequently acquired for $250 million.
Yoshitaka Kitao, chairman and president of SBI Holdings, described the joint venture as a continuation of a robust strategic relationship that includes previous investments in SC Ventures’ portfolio companies.
Salmaan Jaffery, Chief Business Development Officer at DIFC, also lauded SC Ventures and SBI Holdings’ initiative. He noted the commitment of Dubai regulators to fostering an investment-friendly environment that encourages growth and innovation in the crypto sector.
Notably, this capital injection of $100 million involving SBI Holdings comes amid the Japanese firm’s move to inaugurate a 100 billion yen fund ($663 million) for Japan-based tech startups focusing on Web3 and AI.
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