Wirex, a provider of bitcoin and cryptocurrency payments apps today announced that the company has signed a deal with Japan financial holdings company, SBI Holdings, to establish a new Asia focussed joint venture, SBI Wirex Asia. The collaboration means that Wirex benefits from SBI Holdings’ support, scale and Asian market relationships. SBI Holdings will benefit from the collaboration by gaining access to the popular cryptocurrency payments card provider and expert in the world of crypto-based finance.

SBI Wirex Asia will deliver a Japanese cryptocurrency payment card and joint businesses, which benefit from Wirex’s global expertise within the world of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), payments and cryptocurrencies. Earlier this year, SBI invested $3 million into Wirex to support the expansion. Wirex and SBI Wirex Asia will work closely together to ensure Japanese customers benefit from Wirex’s global community and expertise with the support of SBI Wirex Asia.

Pavel Matveev, CEO, Wirex said:

“Our new relationship with SBI Holdings enables us to deepen our already market leading position in the country to offer new Japan and Asia focussed products and services. I look forward to working with the team at SBI.” “Japanese customers are our most enthusiastic supporters and use our VISA-backed cryptocurrency debit card more regularly than anywhere else in the world. They deserve a Yen denominated card soon and we will deliver it to them.”

Wataru Kojima, Wirex Japan CEO, said:

“I am pleased to see SBI Holdings enter into a relationship with Wirex, which will offer Japanese customers much improved choice and flexibility when it comes to cryptocurrency payments. “Japan leads the world in bitcoin regulation and our accountants are armed with the tools to accept bitcoin on balance sheets. I will ensure Japan maintains our preeminent position in this space though providing the most innovative and cost-effective technologies globally.”