Tech giant Sony is moving into the cryptocurrency world by reviving a digital asset exchange it acquired last year, Whalefin, from cryptocurrency lender Amber Group last year.
The exchange was purchased by Sony’s subsidiary Quetta Web in August 2023, with financial details about the deal not being disclosed. Amber Japan, the former parent company of Whalefin, announced its rebranding to S.BLOX and confirmed the Sony acquisition.
Exclusive: Sony Group, one of Japan's largest companies, has acquired Amber Japan, officially entering the crypto exchange field. Sony's businesses include games, music, cameras, etc., with a market value of more than $100 billion. Singapore market maker Amber Group acquired… pic.twitter.com/XOHFIUmKtJ
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 1, 2024
According to the press release issued by Sony on PR Times, the company plans to relaunch the crypto exchange in the near future with a new app, suggesting the firm behind PlayStation is further expanding into the cryptocurrency space.
Sony has in the past dabbed in Web3 through investments and partnerships, notably collaborating with the Astar Network on an incubation program and filing patents for transferring non-fungible tokens (NFTs) across different games and consoles.
The moves comes at a time in which Metaplanet, a publicly traded company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE: 3350), made an announcement regarding their latest Bitcoin acquisition. The Tokyo-headquartered firm is a multifaceted company that engages in diverse industries, primarily focusing on technology and finance
The company announced that it purchased 20,195 BTC at an average price of 9,903,441 yen per Bitcoin for a total of 200 million yen, making it one of the largest corporate holders of the flagship cryptocurrency.
The company’s total Bitcoin holdings now stand at 161.2677 Bitcoins, with an average purchase price of 10,231,438 yen per Bitcoin. The cumulative amount spent on their Bitcoin acquisitions is approximately 1.65 billion yen.
Featured image via Unsplash.