Standard Chartered and SBI Dive Into Crypto With $100M Venture

• Standard Chartered and SBI Holdings plan a crypto joint venture in the UAE.
• SBI Holdings to launch a separate fund for web3, AI, and fintech.

In a strategic move, Standard Chartered’s investment arm, SC Ventures, and Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings have unveiled plans to establish a $100 million crypto-focused joint venture in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The collaboration aims to delve into various sectors within the crypto space. It includes decentralized finance (DeFi), tokenization, consumer payments, and the increasingly popular Metaverse.

This initiative follows Standard Chartered earlier Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Dubai International Financial Centre in May, emphasizing their commitment to digital assets and custody services. Notably, the bank’s investment arm also divested its stake in Metaco, a crypto firm owned by Ripple, in the same month.

Going Global

Moreover, this joint venture is poised to operate globally, intending to cover investment rounds from seed to Series C funding. The companies intend to make “strategic and minority investments” in emerging crypto startups. It draws on SC Ventures‘ expertise gained from ventures like Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets. And investments in fintech leaders such as Ripple and Metaco.

In addition to this joint venture, SBI Holdings is set to launch a separate fund by year-end. It is earmarking up to 100 billion yen ($663 million) for investments in Web3, artificial intelligence, and fintech startups. Several Japanese financial giants, including Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, Nippon Life Insurance, and Daiwa Securities Group, have reportedly committed to investing more than 50 billion yen in this fund. This showcases a broader trend of increased institutional interest in emerging technologies.