Markets
Sony Group Acquires Amber Japan, Officially Enters Cryptocurrency Exchange Arena
Main conclusions
- Sony Group has officially entered the crypto exchange market by acquiring Amber Japan.
- Amber Japan was involved in a speculated debt-to-equity swap deal following the collapse of FTX.
Share this article
Sony Group, a Japanese conglomerate known for gaming, music and cameras, has officially entered the crypto exchange market with the acquisition of Amber Japan, according to crypto reporter Wu Blockchain. Amber Japan, formerly known as DeCurret, is the Japanese subsidiary of the global Amber group, providing regulated digital asset trading services.
Exclusive: Sony Group, one of Japan’s largest companies, has acquired Amber Japan, officially entering the cryptocurrency exchange space. Sony’s businesses include games, music, cameras, etc., with a market value of over $100 billion. Singapore-based market maker Amber Group has acquired… pic.twitter.com/XOHFIUmKtJ
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 1, 2024
Amber Group expanded its operations to Japan through acquisition and the rebranding of Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DeCurret to Amber Japan in 2022. The company, however, faced financial problems due to exposure of some of its trading capital to the defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
After the collapse of FTX, Amber Group changed its fundraising plans and raised a Series C round of US$300 million in December 2022. The round was led by Fenbushi Capital, with participation from notable backers such as Temasek, Sequoia China, Pantera, Tiger, and Coinbase. Amber Group said the funding would help protect customers who lost money due to the FTX collapse.
The latest move comes as part of Sony’s strategy to diversify its portfolio, which already boasts a market value of more than US$100 billion. Sony has been exploring the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain in games in recent years.
In March 2023, Sony registered a patent for an “NFT Framework for Transfer and Use of Digital Assets between Gaming Platforms”. This describes a system for using NFTs across multiple platforms, including features such as NFT-locked gameplay, limited-use game tasks, and rewarding players with NFTs.
This is a developing story. We will provide updates on the situation as we learn more.
Share this article