Wirex has formed a joint venture with fintech investing firm SBI Holdings to launch a cryptocurrency payments card in Japan.
Wirex already offers a Visa-backed cryptocurrency debit card but the new Joint Venture (JV), called SBI Wirex Asia, will soon roll out a Yen denominated option. In addition, the partners plan to move into other Asian markets.
The partnership comes months after SBI Group invested $3 million in Wirex, as the Japanese financial services firm builds up its expertise in the blockchain and cryptocurrency realm. It has also joined the R3 blockchain consortium, while its securities division has taken part in a distributed ledger pilot with the Japan Exchange, IBM and Nomura Research Institute (NRI).
Anytime Anywhere
«Japan leads the world in bitcoin regulation and our accountants are armed with the tools to accept bitcoin on balance sheets. I will ensure Japan maintains our preeminent position in this space,» said Wataru Kojima, CEO, Wirex Japan.
Singapore based TenX claims to be the only company worldwide that makes any cryptocurrency spendable anytime anywhere by offering a debit card payment system to its users.
Under the leadership of co-founder and president Julian Hosp, TenX raised $80 million in its initial token sale in June 2017 and made it to the top 5 Singapore's best funded startups in 2017.
