The clarification highlights strong institutional backing for Ripple and comes as the company expands its tokenization partnerships.
Japanese internet-based financial conglomerate SBI Holdings has responded to earlier allegations regarding its connection with XRP. The company has denied claims that it holds $10 billion in XRP tokens. It states that its exposure to Ripple’s ecosystem is through a 9% equity stake in Ripple Labs, valued at $4 b based on recent valuations.
With this clarification in place, reports indicate that the multinational financial services firm had addressed earlier doubts about a massive XRP reserve. This move underscores robust institutional confidence and commitment to Ripple. Moreover, it demonstrates SBI’s continued strategic alliance with the cross-border payments provider.
Analysts see the size and nature of the equity stake as a significant institutional commitment to Ripple.
SBI Holdings’ CEO, clearing up a misunderstanding about the company’s $10 billion holdings in XRP, noted that the core investment lies in its substantial equity stake in Ripple Labs.
This rumor recently made headlines after an anonymous X social media user under the username Ledger Man praised SBI Holdings’ expansion into crypto in Singapore via the acquisition of Coinhako, Singapore’s leading digital asset platform.
When users mentioned that the Japanese financial services conglomerate held approximately $10 billion in Ripple tokens, several individuals responded. To prevent any further spread of the rumors, Kitao swiftly corrected the misinformation in the post. He began by denying the $10 billion XRP rumor. He clarified that SBI’s actual exposure is through a 9% ownership in Ripple Labs, not a direct, large-scale holding of the digital asset.
“Instead of $10 billion in XRP, it’s actually about 9% of Ripple Labs. This means our hidden asset could be much larger,” he said. Following this statement, analysts argued that Kitao’s phrase “hidden asset” suggests that SBI views its Ripple holdings as undervalued, especially if regulatory clarity and continued growth drive up the XRP issuer’s value.
Meanwhile, it is worth noting that this incident shows how fast misinformation spreads in crypto, especially when people confuse equity investments with token holdings.
Just recently, Ripple made public its partnership with Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, a major British insurance and savings group. The primary goal of this collaboration is to evaluate the integration of tokenized traditional funds onto the XRP Ledger. With this move, Ripple secures its first-ever partnership with a European investment management firm.
The two firms said in a statement that Aviva Investors seeks to utilize XRPL, an open-source, decentralized, public blockchain, to facilitate the issuance and management of tokenized funds.
At this point, sources clarified that this project illustrates Aviva Investors’ inaugural venture into tokenized fund structures, with significant expansion projected for 2026 and beyond.
Nigel Khakoo, Ripple’s Vice President of Trading and Markets, decided to comment on this matter. He noted that “Tokenization is shifting from testing to widespread use,” further noting that, “We think that creating tokenized fund structures can bring significant technological improvements to the investment industry, and we anticipate seeing this fully realized in the next ten years.”
