Japan’s financial conglomerate SBI Holdings announced a joint investment in Singapore’s virtual asset exchange Coinhako with Switzerland-based Sygnum Bank.
Fast facts
- The investment is made through a fund formed in Singapore named the SBI-Sygnum-Azimut Digital Asset Opportunity fund. SBI expressed certainty in supporting Coinhako’s international expansion and other startups that have growth potential in the global crypto ecosystem.
- Coinhako aims to leverage the fund and the expertise of both the SBI Group and the Sygnum Banking Group, pioneers in the fields across digital assets, financial services and fintech in Asia and Europe.
- Founded in 2013, Coinhako is the first crypto exchange to be approved in-principle by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to service digital payment tokens, which encompass cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. It also has the largest trading volume in Singapore with over 300,000 registered users.
- SBI is heavily involved in leading investments and business ventures in the crypto space. Earlier this year, its money transfer provider SBI Remit and digital asset exchange platform SBI VC Trade partnered with Ripple to provide cheaper and faster remittances with XRP between Japan and the Philippines. More recently, it participated in the Series B fund round of Lambda 256, South Korea-based Dunamu’s blockchain technology subsidiary.