SBI announces crypto joint venture with Swiss digital exchange SIX

SBI Digital Asset Holdings, a fully owned subsidiary of Japanese banking giant SBI Holdings, announced a joint crypto venture with Switzerland’s SIX digital exchange (SDX). 

The joint venture would be set up in Singapore through a crypto issuance company and aims to become a regional liquidity hub for institutions. SBI Holdings CEO Yoshitaka Kitao said:

“This is an important step in building the necessary global infrastructure for widespread institutional adoption of digital assets. Together with SDX‘s strength in Switzerland and our planned digital exchange in Osaka, this venture will establish a powerful institutional corridor between Europe and Asia.”

The partnership between SBI and SIX banks on growing crypto demand in the Asia-Pacific region and will cater its services to regulated institutions. The venture is expected to formalize its operations by the end of 2021 and start offering its services by early 2022 following regulatory clearance from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The new undertaking will offer a range of digital asset products and services in the form of tokenized securities such as digital bonds, digital equities and digital securitized loans.

SIX did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph's request for comment.

Related: SBI doubled crypto business profits in past fiscal year.

SDX chairman called SBI a natural partner for the joint venture given their expertise in the institutional digital asset market and dominance in Asia. 

Singapore has grown to become a global crypto hub over the past few years. Major crypto exchanges like Binance, FTX, Coinbase, Huobi, and several others have found a home in the country amid regulatory uncertainty around the globe.