Japan’s SBI Holdings and Saudi Aramco Explore Joint Digital Asset Ventures

Last updated:
Freelance Journalist
Freelance Journalist
Andrew Throuvalas
About Author

Andrew is a journalist and content writer with a passion for Bitcoin. His work has been featured with Cryptonews, Decrypt, CryptoPotato, and Bitcoin Magazine, among others.

Last updated:
Why Trust Cryptonews
Cryptonews has covered the cryptocurrency industry topics since 2017, aiming to provide informative insights to our readers. Our journalists and analysts have extensive experience in market analysis and blockchain technologies. We strive to maintain high editorial standards, focusing on factual accuracy and balanced reporting across all areas - from cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects to industry events, products, and technological developments. Our ongoing presence in the industry reflects our commitment to delivering relevant information in the evolving world of digital assets. Read more about Cryptonews
sbi-holdings
Source: Adobe Stock

Japanese financial services firm SBI Holdings announced last Thursday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with oil giant Saudi Aramco for potential collaboration on digital asset investing.

According to the document, SBI’s agreement with the state-owned oil giant would entail “collaboration in the field of digital assets and co-investments leveraging both parties’ investment portfolios related to digital assets.”

SBI’s total assets are worth $165 billion as of 2023. Saudi Aramco is the world’s second-largest corporation by revenue, next to Walmart.

Both parties would agree to identify Japanese crypto startups and encourage their growth and entry into the Saudi Arabian market. They would also establish numerous factories across both countries for projects “related to investments in the semiconductor field.”

“The scope of the alliance may be expanded upon agreement between the Company and Aramco,” read the notice from SBI.

Back in October, SBI announced a separate collaboration with the Japanese government to invest ¥800 billion ($5.3 billion) to help Taiwan’s Powerchip
Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation builds a semiconductor factory in northeast Japan.

Though that particular factory will focus on automotive chips, semiconductors are critical to the Bitcoin mining industry, which uses high-powered purpose-built computers for securing the blockchain and earning new BTC.

SBI’s Focus On Crypto

Like other international financial giants, the firm is increasingly turning to crypto as both an investable asset class and next step in the evolution of financial technology.

Last month, SBI entered a joint venture with Standard Chartered to establish an investment firm based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to focus on “market infrastructure, risk management and compliance tools, DeFi, tokenization, consumer payments, and the metaverse.”

It also signed a separate MoU with stablecoin issuer Circle in late November to expand the use of USDC in the Japanese market. The company is currently pursuing registration as an electronic payment instruments service, awaiting approval by Japanese regulators.

SBI has been partnered with XRP issuer Ripple since 2018 and is the company’s largest outside shareholder.

More Articles

Bitcoin News
GameStop Plans to Invest in Bitcoin, Shares Surge 20% in Extended Trading
Sujha Sundararajan
Sujha Sundararajan
2025-02-14 05:50:46
Altcoin News
SEC Acknowledges Grayscale’s Filings to List XRP, Dogecoin ETFs
Shalini Nagarajan
Shalini Nagarajan
2025-02-14 05:38:36
Crypto News in numbers
editors
Authors List + 66 More
2M+
Active Monthly Users Around the World
250+
Guides and Reviews Articles
8
Years on the Market
70
International Team Authors