Japanese financial services giant SBI has partnered with Germany’s second-largest stock exchange Boerse Stuttgart Group to promote the adoption of digital assets.

Specifically, SBI will invest an undisclosed amount in two digital asset-focused subsidiaries of Boerse Stuttgart Group — Boerse Stuttgart Digital Exchange (BSDEX) and Boerse Stuttgart Digital Ventures, Cointelegraph Japan reports Dec. 20.

BSDEX is a new cryptocurrency exchange venture launched by Boerse Stuttgart Group in September 2019, while Boerse Stuttgart Digital Ventures is the parent company of Sowa Labs, a firm that developed crypto trading app Bison.

SBI and Boerse Stuttgart Group to “create digital asset demand worldwide”

According to an official announcement from SBI, the conglomerate has partnered with Boerse Stuttgart Group to jointly build a blockchain-based digital asset financial ecosystem and promote demand for digital assets in Europe and Asia.

Yoshitaka Kitao, president and representative director of SBI holdings, said that in order to enable a financial ecosystem for digital assets, the “top priority” for SBI is to find a trusted global financial partner. He continued:

“We will work with the Boerse Stuttgart Group in the digital asset-related business of the SBI Group and other businesses to create digital asset demand worldwide.”

Companies to collaborate on mutual issuance and custody of digital assets

Boerse Stuttgart CEO Alexander Hoeptner specified that the newly established cooperation will include the exchange of technology as well as the mutual issuance and custody of digital assets. Hoeptner added that Asia and Europe are the fastest-growing markets in terms of digital assets, the official announcement reads.

SBI has emerged as a major crypto-friendly financial institution since the company became an active partner of Ripple through their joint venture SBI Ripple Asia in 2016. The financial giant is also running a number of digital asset-oriented businesses including its cryptocurrency mining business SBI Crypto and SBI VC Trade, an SBI affiliate that operates a crypto-asset exchange.

In a recent financial report released in late October, SBI Securities said that its trading revenue increased 19% in 2019, mainly due to the inclusion of the company’s crypto investment wing.