Standard Chartered’s SC Ventures Partners With SBI to Establish Digital Asset Joint Venture in UAE

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Standard Chartered’s ventures arm, SC Ventures, and Japanese conglomerate SBI Holdings are collaborating to establish a digital asset joint venture in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). “The joint venture will focus on investing in companies across the digital assets spectrum including market infrastructure, risk and compliance tools, defi, tokenization, consumer payments, and the metaverse,” SC Ventures described.

SC Ventures Collaborates With SBI Holdings

SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s ventures arm, announced Thursday that it is partnering with SBI Holdings, a Japanese financial conglomerate, to “establish a Digital Asset Joint Venture investment company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).”

Noting that the two companies “intend to capitalize the vehicle with $100 million,” the announcement details:

The joint venture will focus on investing in companies across the digital assets spectrum including market infrastructure, risk and compliance tools, defi, tokenization, consumer payments, and the metaverse.

SC Ventures CEO Alex Manson explained that the UAE “is fast becoming a hub for fintechs in the digital asset space due to its strengthening infrastructure and talent.” He noted that the joint venture will leverage SC Ventures’ experience in digital assets through its ventures, such as Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets, and through its investments in companies like Ripple and Metaco. The announcement notes that the Digital Asset Joint Venture plans “to make investments ranging from seed to Series C funding with a focus on investing globally.”

SBI Holdings CEO Yoshitaka Kitao opined: “This initiative further solidifies the strategic relationship between SBI Holdings and SC Ventures following our investment forays into SC Ventures’ portfolio companies including Solv, Zodia Custody and Myzoi.”

Standard Chartered signed a memorandum of understanding with the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a special economic zone, in May to collaborate in the digital asset space, including digital asset custody. Salmaan Jaffery, Chief Business Development Officer at the DIFC, commented:

We congratulate SC Ventures and SBI Holdings on their drive to help shape the future of finance as they forge ahead with their first Digital Asset Joint Venture in Dubai International Financial Centre.

What do you think about Standard Chartered’s SC Ventures joining forces with SBI Holdings to set up a digital asset joint venture in the UAE? Let us know in the comments section below.