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- During the weekend, SBI Holdings revealed that it plans to launch an exchange fund that is tied to XRP.
- Ripple has kept its IPO plans under wraps, choosing instead to focus on strengthening its international operations.
Last week, SBI Holdings, a major Japanese financial group and long-time Ripple (XRP) partner, released its second-quarter report. The company currently owns about 8–9% of Ripple’s equity, a stake that could become extremely valuable when Ripple eventually goes public.
SBI has been closely tied to Ripple for years through SBI Ripple Asia, a joint venture launched in 2016 to bring RippleNet and the XRP Ledger to payment services across Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and other Asian markets. One of its flagship projects is MoneyTap, a domestic bank transfer app in Japan powered by Ripple’s technology.
Ripple, however, has confirmed it won’t go public in 2025. President Monica Long said Ripple is financially strong and doesn’t need IPO funding this year, a view also echoed by CEO Brad Garlinghouse.
SBI head Yoshitaka Kitao believes Ripple will go public once the regulatory uncertainty with the SEC is cleared up and has proposed an XRP buyback program designed to deliver shareholder rewards and strengthen corporate value, drawing comparisons to MicroStrategy’s playbook.
Still, when Ripple finally does go public, SBI could unlock over ¥1 trillion (about $6.5 billion) in unrealized profits.
According to John Deaton, a former U.S. Senate candidate, Ripple’s potential market value could be even higher:
If Circle can hit a $62–75 billion market cap, then Ripple, with nearly 40 billion XRP (currently worth around $80 billion), could easily reach a $100 billion market cap in this environment.
IPO & ETF Synergies
SBI has played a key role in boosting XRP adoption across Japan, integrating it into cross-border remittances and banking services through its subsidiaries like SBI Remit and SBI VC Trade.
Crypto News Flash reported about its plans to launch a unique Gold + Crypto Hybrid Investment Trust, designed to give investors the security of gold, with more than half of the portfolio allocated to gold ETFs, while still offering up to 49% exposure to digital innovation through crypto ETFs like Bitcoin (BTC).
On top of that, SBI is working on a crypto ETF that would trade directly on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, featuring top digital assets, Bitcoin, and XRP. If approved, it would be one of the first regulated ETF products in Japan to include XRP.
SBI has also partnered with U.S.-based investment giant Franklin Templeton to launch crypto ETFs for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP, positioning Japan as a growing hub for regulated digital asset investment.
That said, regulatory uncertainty remains a hurdle. In the U.S., the SEC has yet to drop its appeal against Ripple, with August 15 set as a procedural deadline rather than a final decision. Over 18 XRP ETF applications from asset managers such as CoinShares, WisdomTree, Franklin Templeton, and ProShares are still waiting for SEC approval.
As for the market, XRP is currently priced at $3.05, down 3.89% over the past week but up 6% in the last 24 hours. Its 24-hour trading volume has dipped 16%, coming in at $6 billion.
