Yoshitaka Kitao, CEO of Strategic Business Innovator Group (SBI), a giant financial services firm based in Japan, recently stated at a Blockchain event that he’s hoping Ripple company’s XRP cryptocurrency becomes the world’s standard of digital currency and fiat money. While speaking at the “Japan Blockchain Conference”, the SBI Holding chairman praised blockchain technology and predicted that it would continue to sustain its fast growth and adoption rate. Kitao added that blockchain would be instrumental in transforming the global financial system.
The SBI CEO further noted that Ripple’s XRP cryptocurrency is quite efficient in processing cross-border transactions, and that it will lead to a more reliable and cost-effective financial system. Moreover, Kitao said that the typical issues related with international payments processing using the traditional banking system could be resolved by utilizing XRP. Notably, the SBI chairman has reportedly been following the development of Ripple’s suite of financial products since January, 2016. This was well before the XRP token’s market capitalization reached record level highs in December, 2017, briefly surpassing $50 billion according to data from CryptoCompare.
“Battle-Tested” Cryptocurrency
Kitao, who’s experienced the crypto market’s highs and lows, remarked that XRP is the only technology that has been “battle-tested”, while also saying that the cryptocurrency will give added support to the existing banking infrastructure. The Japanese businessman stated, “Surveying the market, Ripple was the only company that has delivered battle-tested enterprise solutions and global bank customer traction, including commercial deals with top banks already signed in Asia Pacific. Distributed financial technology is undoubtedly transforming financial infrastructure and we’re excited to drive its adoption throughout Asia,”
Kitao is one of the main partners at Ripple company and has always been a strong supporter of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. His association with Ripple dates back to May 2016 and the SBI Group has been working closely with the creators of XRP through a joint initiative called SBI Ripple Asia. Japan, which has the world’s third highest GDP of nearly $5 trillion, has been leading the charge when it comes to adopting blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
“Real Life” Use Cases
Commenting on the various use cases for blockchain, Kitao said, “We want to take blockchain beyond financial. There’s a lot of speculative demand around cryptocurrencies, which is why the price is going up so quickly, but people need to think about how these technologies are being used in real life and how they can improve people’s businesses.”
In previous interviews, the SBI chair has stated that not only is XRP the ideal digital currency for payments, but also more recently that Bitcoin (BTC) is too costly and that “people are just holding it and hoping it will increase in value.” While criticizing bitcoin at the Japan Blockchain Conference, the flagship cryptocurrency along with Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Ripple (XRP) are all listed on SBI Virtual Currencies [SBI VC], the financial giant’s own crypto exchange, which launched in early June, 2018.
