Japan’s SBI Group Working On A New R3 Project Leveraging Ripple XRP

Japanese Financial giant SBI Financials has confirmed plans to leverage Ripple cryptocurrency XRP on its upcoming R3 project. The asset management firm joins a string of the other multibillion-dollar financial institutions that have taken a keen interest in Ripple blockchain.

SBI New R3 Project

SBI is yet to issue finer details on how it intends to integrate XRP in R3. However, MoneyTap a mobile application is already providing insights as to what people should expect. Analysts in the region expect the Group to introduce a platform that would utilize XRP extensively and encourage banks in the R3 consortium to use the cryptocurrency.

Since its creation, SBI Ripple Asia has gone on to attract over 60 Japanese banks. The consortium is currently working on a string of XRP-based products for deployment in the region. SBI remains focused on leveraging the power of the emerging technology.

Last year it led a $107 million funding round for the largest blockchain consortium R3CEV. The funds are for the development of enterprise-grade blockchain networks. The financial institution has also partnered R3 on the development of a variety of blockchain based systems for use by large-scale conglomerates.

“We regard blockchains as the core of FinTech innovation and are working on various measures both in Japan and abroad. Through this effort, we believe that we can contribute to the progress of the global blockchain field,” SBI Group said .

SBI Blockchain Network

Ripple made clear of its intention to bring more than a dozen banks into its blockchain network at the start of the year. It now appears the financial institution has made important strides on this front as it continues to sign at least one bank to a production contract per week. Its latest customer is the National Bank of Kuwait, which is the largest bank in the country.

The launch of MoneyTap is another development that has helped position the institution, when it comes cross-border payments. The mobile application utilizes the Ripple network to process cross-border transactions thereby enabling real-time payments. Money Tap and the proposed new R3 project should go a long way enhancing the integration of XRP in the existing infrastructure of banks and financial institutions.

Separately, SBI Group has inked a partnership with Sepior ApS to develop a proprietary digital wallet jointly. The financial services firm intends to use the wallet to ensure secure transactions of cryptocurrencies on its exchange platform VCTRADE. Per the agreement, the company is to leverage Sepior’s Threshold-Sig Wallet Security technology for the wallet.