SBI VC Trade is a cryptocurrency exchange that belongs to the SBI Group. Combining the stability of a major financial institution with innovative technology, it provides users with a safe and easy-to-use cryptocurrency trading environment.
SBI VC Trade can handle a wide range of cryptocurrency transactions, including 20 cryptocurrency brands, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, and meets the needs of a wide range of users from beginners to advanced users with a low-latency trading system and comprehensive security measures. It also promotes its Web3 business by providing the SBI Web3 Wallet and entering the stable coin business.
We spoke to Tomohiko Kondo, CEO of SBI VC Trade, who aims to be "customer-centric" by providing highly reliable services and taking advantage of the SBI brand, about the future of cryptocurrency and the outlook for the business.
We offer a wide range of services that can be managed in addition to buying and selling.
Please tell us about your career and the circumstances that led to your appointment as CEO.
Tomohiko Kondo (hereinafter, Kondo): I joined SBI Holdings as a new graduate in 2007 and joined SBI VC Trade as a director in July 2019.
Prior to that, SBI VC Trade was initially operated under the name SBI Virtual Currencies and was established in 2016. It was in 2018 that we officially obtained a license and started our services.
I myself had been involved in the FX business at a company called SBI Liquidity Market within the SBI Group for a long time, and I also participated in the change in management structure of SBI VC Trade, which involved a change in business members, the acquisition of TaoTao, a competitor, in 2020, and the merger with the company in December 2021, and the integration of the systems in June 2022.
After that, I will be mainly working on improving the business through 2023, and will take up my current position in June 2023.
What do you think is the appeal of cryptocurrencies?
Kondo: Take remittances as an example. With conventional infrastructure, international remittances were slow and expensive. However, with cryptocurrencies, the speed is overwhelmingly faster and sending is possible at low cost.
In fact, we are working to popularize easy-to-use technology in the field of remittances, and the cryptocurrency XRP is already being used for international remittances to countries like the Philippines.
I think this ease of use is the biggest appeal of cryptocurrencies.
