SBI Holdings CEO Yoshitaka Kitao has clarified that the Japanese financial giant does not hold $10 billion in XRP tokens. Still, it owns a massive equity stake in Ripple Labs itself.
Equity, not tokens
The discussion began when a user, @strivex_, praised SBI’s recent expansion into Singapore, stating: "SBI, a major partner of Ripple and holder of $10 billion in #XRP, is growing its presence in Asia..."Kitao quoted the post to correct the financial details directly.
Holding $10 billion in XRP would expose SBI directly to the daily volatility of the token’s price. Instead, holding 9% of Ripple Labs means SBI owns a significant portion of the private company’s equity.
A "hidden asset"?
In a follow-up tweet, Kitao has explained why he considers the stake a "hidden asset" that is not fully reflected in SBI's current book value.
"When it comes to Ripple Lab.'s total valuation, which obviously includes its ecosystem that Ripple has created, that would be enormous. SBI owns more than 9% of that much."
Recent private market reports and analysis have pegged Ripple Labs' valuation at upwards of $50 billion.
If Ripple is valued at $50 billion, SBI’s 9% stake would be worth approximately $4.5 billion on paper today.
That said, Kitao appears to believe that Ripple's ecosystem commands a premium far higher than current private metrics show.
SBI Holdings has been Ripple’s most staunch ally since 2016. The partnership is deeply structured into both companies' operations.
The Coinhako acquisition
On Friday, SBI announced it is acquiring a majority stake in Coinhako, a regulated cryptocurrency exchange based in Singapore. Coinhako holds a Major Payment Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
SBI is effectively building a "corridor" for digital assets that links Japan and Southeast Asia.
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin