In a new development for East Asia, Japanese crypto exchange BitBank announced a partnership with financial holding company Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, with the goal of establishing the Japan Digital Asset Trust (JADAT).
According to an announcement sent to Cointelegraph on Tuesday, JADAT will be created to provide custodial services along with auditing and wallet insurance. The company is designed to facilitate the entry of institutional players into the Japanese digital asset market.
Once established, the firm will specialize in custody services including cryptocurrency, security tokens on public blockchains, stablecoins and non-fungible-tokens (NFTs) for digital asset holdings.
BitBank is one of the largest crypto exchanges in Asia, with a monthly trading volume of over $5 billion. On the other hand, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings is a publicly-traded holding and exclusive trust bank group. According to the announcement, the companies will use their expertise to contribute to the development of the Jamaat.
At the moment, the crypto exchange and financial holdings firm signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) where both the parties agreed to explore the investment possibilities of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings in JADAT.
Last week, Nomura, one of Japan’s largest investment banks, revealed plans to create a crypto subsidiary outside the country. This follows the firm’s recent move to offer bitcoin (BTC) derivatives to its clients in Asia. The new subsidiary will focus on helping institutions invest their funds in crypto and NFTs.
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Earlier in May, e-commerce platform SBI Motor Japan announced that it was accepting BTC and XRP as payment methods. According to SBI Holdings, the e-commerce platform exports 5,000 used cars annually to Africa. This means that the African market can buy cars from the company using cryptocurrency.
