Japan’s SBI Adds XRP to Cryptocurrency Lending Service

A subsidiary of Japan-based financial services company SBI Holdings said Thursday it will allow customers to lend the XRP cryptocurrency in return for interest.

• According to an announcement from the group's crypto exchange, SBI VC Trade, XRP lending is available from today with a lending period from 84 days.
• The minimum loan amount is 1,000 XRP (around $389 at time of writing) and the maximum 100,000 XRP ($38,900). Interest, described as a "usage fee," is a fairly meager 0.1% per annum, including tax.
• The crypto lending service launched in November 2020, allowing users to loan bitcoin at 1% interest.
• SBI VC Trade was launched in 2018 and focused initially on the trading of XRP. SBI has a business relationship with Ripple, the blockchain payments firm closely associated with XRP.
• XRP saw its value fall after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission took Ripple to court in late December alleging the firm broke securities laws with retail sales of the cryptocurrency.
• A number of U.S. exchanges, including Coinbase and Binance US, have since delisted XRP, but SBI has said it is not considered a security in Japan.

Read more: XRP Is a Crypto Asset in Japan, Not a Security, Ripple Partner SBI Claims