Through a media release, Kitao has stated that the blockchain technology driven real-time gross settlement system considers Japan as “the most promising candidate” for its head office, in case Ripple’s recent announcement of moving out of the US (San Francisco) happens in reality.
Notably, SBI Holdings is one of the major investors in Ripple, with Kitao being one of its board members.
In recent times, both Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen and CEO Brad Garlinghouse have voiced their concerns over the absence of regulatory transparency in the US.
Earlier in October, Larsen has stated that the company was looking at the option of shifting its headquarters to one of the four countries, namely the U.K., Switzerland, Singapore, or Japan, as officials in the US follow a “regulation through enforcement” policy and were “woefully behind” in getting ready for the crypto led worldwide financial system in the future.
As per a report published by Bloomberg on October 22, Ripple had pre-screened Singapore and Japan. Garlinghouse has stated that he is in touch with SBI regarding the process of shifting headquarters to any of the aforesaid countries, including Japan.
Garlinghouse said “Japan is one of our fastest-growing markets, in part because we have key partners like SBI.”
SBI Holdings also revealed that Ripple had finished the process of investing in Japanese payments firm MoneyTap, believed as a step in the wider process of integrating Ripple technology aided settlements in all ATMs in the country.
The integration is aimed to facilitate customers with simple way to gain access to funds at Japanese ATMs, irrespective of the bank in which an account is held.