Application for ETF for XRP and BTC from Japanese financial giant

Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings has taken a significant step in the field of digital asset-focused investment products. The company has applied for two separate exchange-traded funds focusing exclusively on XRP and Bitcoin, (ETF). Additionally, SBI has rolled up its sleeves for an innovative ETF that combines gold and cryptoassets.

According to the financial results report for the second quarter of 2025 published by Tokyo-based SBI Holdings, providing cryptoassets and traditional financial products through hybrid models is among the company's long-term strategies. It is aimed to offer attractive products for both individual and institutional investors with these ETFs prepared by SBI's investment arm, SBI Global Asset Management.

Ongoing Organic Relationship with Ripple

The report also mentions SBI's strategic relationship with Ripple. The company owns 9% of Ripple and has been actively offering international money transfer services using XRP in Japan since 2021. Additionally, the listing of Ripple's newly developed stablecoin RLUSD on the Japanese company's VC Trade platform is also on the agenda.

Gold and cryptoassets together

The other noteworthy fund that SBI has applied for combines traditional finance's safe haven gold with cryptoassets. This hybrid fund offers investors the opportunity to balance volatility while providing the chance to benefit from both inflation protection in portfolios and the potential returns of digital assets.

Strategic growth and customer base target

SBI Holdings is pursuing an aggressive growth strategy with a target of 30 million investment accounts by 2029. The company's net profit for the second quarter of 2025 reached 84.6 billion Japanese yen, amounting to (572 million dollars), an increase of 295.9% compared to the previous year. It was emphasized that digital assets and private equity investments played a significant role in this growth.

As the customer base grows, crypto transactions are also expanding

According to the SBI report, the total number of customers of the company's crypto asset subsidiaries, SBI VC Trade and BITPoint, has increased by 91.9% in the last year, approaching 1.7 million. This increase is said to be influenced by new loyalty programs that allow credit card points to be converted into BTC, ETH, and XRP, as well as the effective integration of banking and stock trading.

Loyalty Program with XRP: An Integration Model that Promotes Crypto

SBI has accelerated integration policies with traditional finance for the widespread adoption of cryptoassets. According to the report, SBI Holdings and SBI Global Asset Management have been distributing XRP as a shareholder reward since 2020. Additionally, credit card users can convert their points to BTC, ETH, or XRP. Thanks to these programs, SBI VC Trade's individual customer base is rapidly expanding, while the platform's total asset size surpassed 600 billion as of July 2025. With this strategy, SBI Holdings aims to become Japan's leading crypto exchange.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading action carries risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making decisions.