SBI Plans XRP ETF in Japan, Eyes Major Returns on 9% Ripple Stake Post-IPO
August 4, 2025
SBI Japan, Ripple’s partner, is seeking to launch two exchange-traded funds tied to XRP, Bitcoin, and gold. The company made this known in its Q2 2025 report, published on July 31. In a tweet, popular XRP community figure Eri drew attention to the proposed funds, dubbed Digital Gold Crypto ETF and Crypto Asset ETF.
SBI Proposed ETFs
According to SBI, the Digital Gold Crypto ETF will directly invest in gold and Bitcoin ETFs. Notably, more than 51% of the fund will be allocated to gold, while up to 49% will be in Bitcoin ETF, specifically the Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC).
Institutions Rally Behind XRP
The development comes on the heels of growing institutional interest in XRP globally. As previously reported, the Ontario Securities Commission approved the launch of two spot XRP ETFs in Canada in June. In the U.S., where the SEC has approved the launch of several Bitcoin-only spot ETFs, more than 10 asset managers are seeking to roll out a similar product for XRP.
Although the U.S. SEC approved two separate basket ETFs featuring XRP – the Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC) and Bitwise index fund (BITW) – the regulator immediately halted their launch. Now, Ripple’s longstanding partner SBI Japan is seeking to launch a basket ETF comprising XRP and Bitcoin, and another product tied to BTC and gold.
Notably, SBI expects the Japanese financial services agency’s latest efforts to treat cryptocurrencies as legitimate financial instruments to influence approval of the ETFs.
SBI Expects Significant Returns on 9% Ripple Stake
Meanwhile, SBI stated that its investment balance has grown 2.8x over the past five years, reaching 795.1 billion JPY ($5.37 billion) at the end of Q2 2025. Interestingly, the Japanese financial giant expects most companies it has invested in to go public over the next two years. If this happens, SBI expects to see significant gains, particularly on its 9% stake in Ripple. According to the firm, the valuation of that 9% stake will be clarified through a potential Ripple IPO or any equivalent event.
In the meantime, Ripple has yet to disclose its IPO plans, as the company is focused on expanding its footprint globally. Notably, SBI, which currently leverages XRP for its international remittance solution, is considering handling Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin.
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