Japanese Financial Giant SBI Holdings Enters DeFi Market with HashHub Purchase
In a move that highlights the growing interest of traditional financial institutions in the crypto space, SBI Holdings has announced the acquisition of HashHub, a cryptocurrency lending and research company. According to the announcement made on February 28th, SBI has entered into a share transfer agreement with HashHub’s existing shareholders, with plans to make it a consolidated subsidiary.
The acquisition will give SBI Holdings 100% ownership of HashHub after the transfer is completed on March 31st, 2023. However, the HashHub’s CEO, Junya Hirano, will continue to lead the company’s operations, and there will be no changes to the management structure.
HashHubをSBIグループ傘下で運営する契約締結に至ったことをお知らせ致します。
詳しくはリリースの通りですが、今まで以上にユーザーの皆様に価値を届けられると考えています。
また私は引き続き新しい体制での経営に専念します。これからもHashHubをよろしくお願いします。https://t.co/XImB6VFntL— 平野淳也 HashHub (@junbhirano) February 28, 2023
Founded in April 2018, HashHub provides a platform for customers to borrow cryptocurrency and offers HashHub Lending, a lending business that utilizes decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. It also runs a research business, HashHub Research, which distributes reports related to cryptocurrency and Web3 technologies.
SBI Holdings has stated that the acquisition is part of a broader strategy to create synergies between HashHub and its other businesses, such as SBI VC Trade, Bitpoint Japan, and SBINFT, which operates an NFT marketplace. SBI VC Trade is an exchange for cryptocurrency trading. The company has been acquiring various crypto-related businesses over the past few months, including Bitpoint Japan and TAOTAO, which it fully acquired in December 2020, and gumi, which it partnered with in December 2021.
The acquisition of HashHub follows a pattern of Japanese financial firms entering the crypto market, reflecting a growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a legitimate asset class. With HashHub’s expertise in cryptocurrency lending and research, SBI Holdings is well-positioned to leverage the opportunities provided by Web3 technologies and offer new asset formation opportunities to its customers.
Read more:
- Fujitsu, Sumitomo Mitsui, And Other Major Japanese Companies Join Forces To Build Open Metaverse Infrastructure
- Huawei Cloud Launches Metaverse & Web3.0 Alliance With Top Blockchain Partners
- Lotte Group Expands NFT Business With Polygon Blockchain Partnership