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Japanese financial giant SBI Group is introducing a cryptocurrency lending service through its cryptocurrency-related subsidiary, SBI VC Trade.
According to an official announcement on November 24, the new crypto lending platform will allow users to lend their crypto to SBI and earn interest at a rate of 1% including tax.
The new service, called VC Trade Lending, will initially support the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC), with SBI further planning to add support for Ether (ETH) and XRP. The minimum loan amount is 0.1 BTC, or $ 1,840 at the time of publication, while the maximum amount is capped at 5 BTC, or $ 92,000.
SBI stated that VC Trade Lending will have no account management fees or annual membership fees. The service will also not charge any fees for deposits made in Japanese yen or cryptocurrencies, but will still charge a fee for yen withdrawals.
SBI is one of the leading financial institutions in Japan involved in the cryptocurrency industry. In early October 2020, SBI Liquidity Market, the exchange and derivatives arm of SBI, acquired TaoTao, a cryptocurrency exchange previously 40% owned by Yahoo Japan’s YJFX. The company also runs its crypto business through its subsidiary SBI VC Trade.
SBI is also a major partner of Ripple, a company that builds financial products on XRP, the fourth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization at the time of publication. In late October 2020, SBI CEO Yoshitaka Kitao said Ripple will most likely move to Japan should it choose to leave the United States.
