Sony Group, a Japanese electronics giant, has spent billions of yen to acquire Amber Japan, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange owned by Singapore market maker Amber Group. The acquisition was announced today and the exchange will be renamed as S.BLOX, signaling further collaboration with Sony Group in the future.
Amber Group, known for its cryptocurrency market making, has investors including Temasek, Sequoia China, Pantera, Tiger Global Management, Coinbase, and others. The company previously launched an all-in-one digital asset management platform, WhaleFin. However, following the collapse of FTX in 2022, Amber Group faced financial difficulties and was reportedly involved in a decentralized debt-to-equity swap.
Following the acquisition, Yijin Li has resigned as the representative of Amber Japan, and Jun Watanabe, the chairman of Sony Network Communications Inc., will take over as the representative of the acquired company.
Upon being acquired, the operation of WhaleFin, managed by Amber Japan, was also announced to be rebranded as S.BLOX Co., Ltd. The company will work closely with Sony Group internally and update WhaleFin to include redesigned UI interfaces, new applications, and plans to expand support for various types of cryptocurrencies and functions.
According to a statement, S.BLOX Co., Ltd was fully acquired by Sony Group’s subsidiary, Quetta Web Co., Ltd, in August 2023, and will continue to operate cryptocurrency trading services. As part of Sony Group, the company will collaborate with various businesses within the group to create new added value in the cryptocurrency trading services.
Prior to acquiring S.BLOX Co., Ltd, Sony has been exploring the use of NFT and blockchain in gaming over the past few years. However, owning its own exchange marks an important milestone.
Last March, Sony submitted a patent application for a framework for transferring and using digital assets through NFTs across gaming platforms. The patent outlined a system for using NFTs across platforms, including playing NFT-exclusive games, limited use of NFTs in in-game missions, and rewarding players with NFTs.
The report suggests that Sony is actively exploring innovative ways to enhance user gaming experiences, although the specific application of blockchain technology in future games and platforms is yet to be observed.