SBI Holdings’ chief executive Yoshitaka Kitao has downplayed speculation that the Japanese financial conglomerate is sitting on a $10 billion trove of XRP, arguing that the real prize on SBI’s balance sheet is its sizeable equity stake in Ripple Labs – a position he described as a “hidden asset” that could ultimately be worth far more.
The discussion was sparked by a post on X that described SBI as both a “major partner of Ripple” and the “holder of $10 billion in XRP,” linking that figure to SBI’s increasing presence in Asian crypto markets, including its acquisition of Singapore-based regulated exchange Coinhako. Kitao stepped in personally to correct the narrative, shifting the focus from token holdings to corporate ownership.
“Not $10 bil. in XRP but around 9% of Ripple Lab. So our hidden asset could be much bigger,” he wrote on February 15. With that single line, Kitao effectively reframed the debate: instead of arguing over how many XRP tokens SBI might hold, he highlighted the company’s roughly 9% equity position in Ripple itself – a stake whose value moves with Ripple’s overall corporate worth, not just the spot price of XRP.
Later the same day, Kitao elaborated on this idea, stressing that any discussion of Ripple’s value has to account for the full breadth of the company’s ecosystem. “When it comes to Ripple Lab’s total valuation which obviously include its ecosystem that Ripple has created, that would be enormous,” he said. “SBI owns more than 9 % of that much.” The emphasis on “ecosystem” hints at a broader view that includes Ripple’s payment network, institutional partnerships, software products, and strategic positioning in cross-border settlements.
Observers quickly began running the numbers. Commentators pointed to recent private-market estimates that place Ripple’s valuation north of $50 billion. On that basis, a 9% stake would be worth at least $4.5 billion, with substantial upside if Ripple’s valuation continues to grow. Kitao himself declined to attach a dollar amount to SBI’s position, but the 9% figure provides a simple reference point for any valuation scenario.
Mathematically, if SBI’s equity in Ripple were already more than $10 billion, Ripple would need to be valued above roughly $111 billion. This follows from a straightforward calculation: $10 billion divided by a 9% ownership share implies a total valuation of about $111.1 billion. At a $90 billion Ripple valuation, that 9% stake would be worth around $8.1 billion; at $50 billion, the figure drops to about $4.5 billion. The gap between those benchmarks shows that describing the stake as potentially “much bigger” than a $10 billion XRP pile implies a belief in truly large-scale future valuations for Ripple.
SBI’s position in Ripple did not appear overnight. It is the result of a long-term strategic alliance that stretches back more than a decade. According to SBI’s own investor disclosures, the relationship with Ripple was first “established” in September 2012. In March 2016, SBI moved from partnership to direct equity exposure by investing in Ripple. This was followed by an even deeper operational tie-up through the creation of SBI Ripple Asia in May 2016, a joint venture owned 60% by SBI and 40% by Ripple.
That joint venture has been central to Ripple’s expansion in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in Japan and surrounding markets, helping financial institutions test and deploy Ripple-based cross-border payment solutions. The collaboration aligns with SBI’s broader strategy of positioning itself as a digital finance leader in Asia, leveraging both traditional financial infrastructure and emerging blockchain rails.
SBI’s commitment to Ripple was underscored again in December 2019, when the Japanese group joined other investors in Ripple’s $200 million Series C funding round. That financing is one of the most visible public markers of Ripple’s private-market valuation trajectory, demonstrating that established financial firms were prepared to back the company even amid regulatory questions around XRP’s status in certain jurisdictions.
By framing Ripple equity as a “hidden asset,” Kitao is drawing attention to a dynamic that often gets lost in crypto market discussions: tokens and the companies behind them are distinct assets with different risk and reward profiles. While XRP trades on public markets with high volatility and immediate price discovery, Ripple Labs remains privately held. Its shares do not change hands on open exchanges, and their valuation is inferred from funding rounds, secondary private sales, or internal mark-to-market assessments by stakeholders like SBI.
This distinction is critical for understanding SBI’s strategy. An XRP position is a liquid, mark-to-market exposure to the token’s price. A 9% stake in Ripple Labs, by contrast, is a bet on the company’s long-term ability to monetize its technology stack, expand its network of bank and fintech partnerships, resolve regulatory uncertainties, and potentially pursue an eventual public listing or major corporate transaction. Any such event could crystallize the “hidden” value that Kitao is alluding to.
From an investor’s perspective, SBI’s messaging also hints at how large financial institutions may be thinking about crypto-related opportunities. Instead of focusing purely on holding tokens, they may see greater upside in owning infrastructure providers, payment networks, and software platforms that sit at the core of blockchain-based finance. In that context, Ripple is not just associated with XRP; it is a company building tools for cross-border settlements, liquidity management, and tokenization, which could all feed into a significantly larger valuation if adoption accelerates.
The comments also implicitly underscore Ripple’s positioning in the global remittance and payments market, where it competes with entrenched systems like SWIFT and with newer blockchain rivals. If Ripple succeeds in capturing even a modest share of those flows, the value of its ecosystem – and by extension its equity – could grow independently of short-term moves in XRP’s price. This is the vector of growth that Kitao appears to be emphasizing to his own shareholders.
There is also a strategic signaling dimension to Kitao’s remarks. By publicly highlighting the scale and potential of SBI’s Ripple stake, he reinforces SBI’s image as a forward-looking, tech-aligned financial group. For domestic and international investors, this narrative can position SBI not only as a traditional financial institution, but as a key equity holder in one of the better-known blockchain companies operating at the intersection of crypto and mainstream finance.
At the same time, the market will naturally weigh the risks. Ripple has faced and, in some jurisdictions, continues to face regulatory scrutiny over XRP, and the broader digital asset space remains volatile and policy-sensitive. Any assessment of SBI’s “hidden asset” must therefore factor in not just upside scenarios based on expansive valuations, but also the possibility of delays, regulatory setbacks, or changing competitive dynamics in cross-border payments.
Still, the underlying message from Kitao is clear: in his view, the real story is not how much XRP SBI might hold today, but how much value could ultimately be unlocked from owning a nearly one-tenth slice of Ripple Labs if the company’s ecosystem and business model reach their full potential. For now, that value remains largely off-screen for public-market investors, but as Ripple’s private valuation evolves, so too will the perceived weight of SBI’s quiet but substantial position.
At the time of his remarks, XRP was trading around $1.46, underscoring the gap between the daily noise of token markets and the longer-term, less visible process of building corporate value in the background. It is precisely in that gap that Kitao appears to see one of SBI’s most significant, and most underestimated, assets.