SBI Launches XRP Lending Services

Japan-based financial services firm SBI Group now allows its users to lend their XRP through its cryptocurrency-related subsidiary, the firm announced in a press release on 4 February.

According to the announcement, SBI VC Trade users can now use the VC Lending service to earn interest on their XRP holdings, with the lending period lasting 84 days. The minimum amount that can be loaned is 1,000 XRP, while the maximum has been set at 100,000 XRP. SBI stated in its press release:

“VC Trade Lending is a service that allows customers to rent out their crypto assets to the company and receive interest rewards according to the quantity and duration of the crypto assets.”

Launched in November 2020, the SBI crypto lending platform originally only allowed the lending of the top digital asset on the market, Bitcoin (BTC), at a 1% interest rate. In comparison, XRP’s interest is significantly lower — being set at 0.1%, including tax — which could be attributed to the legal issues Ripple is having in the U.S. right now.

Back in December 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused Ripple, the firm behind XRP, of raising more than $1.3 billion in an “unregistered, ongoing digital asset securities offering”. The CEO of SBI Holdings, Yoshitaka Kitao, quickly came to Ripple’s defence, saying that “Japan’s FSA has already made it clear that XRP is not a security”. A month before the lawsuit, a senior executive at Ripple threatened that the firm could soon move to Singapore or the U.K. if the SEC does not change its “hostile attitude” towards crypto.

While SBI has emerged as a major supporter of Ripple, and its digital asset XRP, other firms have taken a more cautions approach. The legal troubles of Ripple has already forced some major exchanges, like Coinbase and Binance US, to delist the XRP digital asset. It all depends on the results of the lawsuit if XRP will once again be listed on these exchanges. Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, said in a blog post:

“We will continue to monitor legal developments related to XRP and update our customers as more information becomes available.”