• Ripple partner SBI Holdings is partnering with Franklin Templeton to form a joint venture by the end of 2024, aiming to explore the investment environment for spot Bitcoin ETFs in Japan.
• This partnership has sparked discussions about the potential introduction of a spot XRP ETF.

As per the latest report from Nikkei, Ripple partner SBI Holdings said that it would establish a joint venture with US-based investment management giant Franklin Templeton by the end of 2024, with the goal of exploring the investment environment for spot Bitcoin ETFs in Japan. Japanese financial giant seems to be exploring this Bitcoin investment product after its massive success in the US in the first six months of launch.

Franklin Templeton is a big name in the mutual fund and the ETF industry with several products in the market. In this partnership, Franklin Templeton will own 49% of the new company while SBI Holdings will hold a major stake of 51%. This joint venture seeks to address the growing interest in spot Bitcoin ETFs across the world.

This partnership could be noteworthy due to the major tax advantages that these spot Bitcoin ETFs would bring to Japanese investors once they start trading on the domestic securities market. Financial giant SBI Holdings revealed that they have received many requests from Japanese customers. Besides, Franklin Templeton also has experience in the crypto ETF market by recently launching the spot Ether ETF, per the CNF update.

As of now, owning physical Bitcoin is currently subject to a staggering 55% capital gains tax. On the other hand, the spot Bitcoin ETFs attract only 20.315% on capital gains. furthermore, treating Bitcoin ETFs as “transfer income” will allow the investor to carry forward the losses as well as the aggregation of gains and losses. This would lead to smaller tax bills for investors.

Will Ripple Partner SBI Holdings Introduce A Spot XRP ETF?

This development has once again triggered the discussion about spot XRP ETF since SBI Holdings is a strong Ripple-ally for years now. Over the past many years, SBI Holdings has been instrumental in promoting the Ripple blockchain technology in Asia via a joint venture with SBI Ripple Asia. This partnership majorly focuses on enhancing cross-border payment systems using the Ripple tech.

Furthermore, SBI Holdings has been a significant supporter of the XRP token, while recognizing its potential in facilitating fast and cost-effective international transactions. In 2018, SBI Ripple Asia spearheaded the formation of a consortium with multiple Japanese banks to utilize Ripple’s technologies for domestic and international payments. Earlier this month, SBI Holdings also launched XRP Ledger NFTs at the World Expo 2025, per the CNF report.

This deep partnership between SBI Holdings and Ripple further strengthens the case of having an XRP ETF in Japan, in the future. About the US market, BlackRock crypto chief Robert Mitchnick recently dismissed the possibility of any further crypto ETFs, including Solana, XRP, etc. citing liquidity issues due to their very little market share in the broader crypto market. But Ripple President Monica Long remains optimistic about XRP ETF once the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit settles, reported CNF.

Ripple’s native cryptocurrency XRP is currently trading at $0.60 with a market cap of $33.675 billion. As reported by CNF, market analysts are giving targets of $20 and beyond for Ripple.