Tech Giant Sony Enters Japanese Crypto Market With Purchase Of Amber Japan Exchange

Tech giant Sony has entered the crypto space after announcing its acquisition of crypto exchange Amber Japan, in a move to diversify its already extensive portfolio. Sony has a market value exceeding $100 billion, primarily focusing on gaming, music, and camera technology.

Background Of Amber Japan, Sony’s Latest Acquisition

Amber Group, a Singapore-based market maker acquired Japanese crypto exchange, DeCurret, earlier this year. Following the purchase, the group then rebranded DeCurret to Amber Japan in a continued effort to expand its operations into the Japanese market. Amber Group targeted DeCurret as it is one of the few exchanges fully regulated by Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA).

BREAKING: SONY to launch #Bitcoin and crypto exchange. pic.twitter.com/c4HP2nCTwp

— Bitcoin Archive (@BTC_Archive) July 1, 2024

In February 2022, Amber Group raised $200 million, which resulted in its valuation reaching $3 billion. The round was led by multiple investment capital firms such as Sequoia China, Temasek, Pantera Capital, and Tiger Global Management.

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Amber Group Hit Hard By FTX Collapse

Following this monumental raise, Amber Group was hit hard by the collapse of FTX in November 2022. During the unwinding of FTX, the group lost significant trading capital in the process. To salvage the situation, Amber Group quickly initiated a $300 million Series C round in December 2022. This capital raise was led by Fenbushi Capital with participation from Coinbase alongside previous investors Temasek, Sequoia China, Pantera and Tiger. The reason for the raise was to help customers who had funds on FTX and suffered losses due to its downfall.

Sony’s purchase of Amber Japan signals a strong entry into the cryptocurrency exchange space from the tech giant. Although, this isn’t Sony’s first foray into the digital asset industry. Over the past few years, Sony has explored the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain technology in gaming.

Sony apparently acquired crypto exchange Amber Japan, its biggest move into the space so far.

As an aside, SIE holds a patent for NFTs inside video games that was granted in 2023, among a few other Web3-related things: https://t.co/bAKpE9C8vL https://t.co/zttxxwhWYq

— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) July 1, 2024

Disclaimer: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.

Disclaimer

Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.
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