The Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), the second
largest of the three biggest banks in Japan, has announced it is
planning to expand into digital asset businesses, including non-fungible
tokens (NFTs) and Web3 platforms. The company will partner with
Hashport, a group that offers tokenization and listing services in
Japan, to launch a token business lab to experiment with these new
technologies.
Second Biggest Japanese Bank to Introduce Token and NFT Services
Many traditional banking companies around the world are now
considering entering the crypto and digital assets business. SMBC, the
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, an institution with more than 463
branches and a presence all over the world, has announced it is going to enter the cryptocurrency asset business, taking NFT services and Web3 as its main priority in the field.
To achieve this goal, SMBC has partnered with Hashport, a company
that specializes in offering tokenization solutions and listing
services. The press release indicates that SMBC’s business knowledge and
Hashport’s Web3 technical solutions will allow the joint venture to
build a service platform. It states:
We aim to build an ecosystem involving many players in
the NFT domain. We believe that these efforts will contribute to the
promotion of Web3 in Japan.
Business Token Lab
The result of the collaboration will be the establishment of a
business token lab, that will “engage in surveys, research, and
demonstration experiments related to the promotion of the token
business.”
This also coincides with the long-term goal of the company, which is
to encourage the spread of the token business in Japan and also
establish a division to offer digital custody services. However, the
services that SMBC aims to offer go beyond these. The joint venture
indicated this move aims to provide “commercialization support and
consulting services to customers considering the token business,
including the issuance of NFTs.”
The SMBC Group is also considering issuing its own token business in
the future, taking advantage of its international presence and its large
established userbase. Other Japanese companies have also launched
initiatives in this sector, including Rakuten, an online retail company
that launched its own NFT marketplace in February. In May, a subsidiary of the group also announced it would partner with Bitbank, a Japanese crypto exchange, to offer cryptocurrency custody services for institutions.
source link : https://news.bitcoin.com/japanese-bank-smbc-to-foray-into-nft-and-web3-markets/
