Japanese financial giant SBI pursuing group-wide on-chain transition

Japanese financial giant SBI is expanding its digital asset business and pursuing an on-chain transition for the entire group, The Block reported. The company recently invested $125 million in DeFi risk management project Gauntlet and led an investment round for U.S. institutional crypto platform EDX Markets. An SBI official stated that these moves are part of a group-wide on-chain strategy, adding that a token-based economy is imminent, where all assets will be tokenized and transactions, settlements, and contract executions will be completed on the blockchain. Meanwhile, Joseph Goh, head of Asia-Pacific at crypto investment bank Areta, identified South Korea as the next market to watch. He commented that SBI is not just increasing its crypto investments but is acquiring the infrastructure to support the next generation of financial systems. Goh believes comprehensive financial groups with banking, securities, and retail distribution networks are best positioned to follow SBI's strategy.