Japanese conglomerate SBI Holdings announced on Friday its initiative to reward shareholders with XRP tokens, which is facing regulatory backlash in the United States but support in Asia.
This is the second year the holding company is continuing the XRP incentivizing program. The first program was launched in August 2019.
As detailed in the official announcement, SBI shareholders with a minimum holding of 100 or more are eligible for the cryptocurrency reward. Shareholders have to apply by May 31 to receive the incentive.
Eligible SBI investors will receive XRP worth 2,500 yen (around $23) and the exact amount of the digital currency to be distributed will be determined on June 30, based on the XRP market price. The reward will be in addition to the dividends received by the company shareholders.
Supporting the Troubled Crypto
SBI is a long-term partner of Ripple, and the two formed a joint venture in Japan to promote the uses of Blockchain infrastructure and XRP in cross-border Payments .
The reputation of Ripple was dented at the end of 2020 when the US securities market regulator brought a lawsuit against the company and its two top executives for raising $1.3 billion over eight years by selling XRP, which according to them is an unregistered security.
This lawsuit resulted in a freefall of XRP prices on the exchanges as the US-based trading platforms quickly suspended XRP trading. However, the cryptocurrency regained most of its losses due to its demand in other markets, especially Asia.
Furthermore, SBI showed its support towards XRP in the hard times by adding the token to its newly-launched lending services.
