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Sony Group Acquires Amber Japan, Officially Enters Crypto Exchange Arena
Key takeaways
- Sony Group has officially entered the crypto exchange market by acquiring Amber Japan.
- Amber Japan was involved in a speculative debt-to-equity deal after the collapse of FTX.
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Sony Group, a Japanese conglomerate known for its games, music and cameras, has officially entered the cryptocurrency exchange market with the acquisition of Amber Japan, according to Cryptocurrency Journalist Wu Blockchain. Amber Japan, formerly known as DeCurret, is the Japanese subsidiary of the global Amber Group, which provides regulated digital asset trading services.
Exclusive: Sony Group, one of Japan’s largest companies, has acquired Amber Japan, officially entering the crypto exchange space. Sony’s businesses include games, music, cameras, and more, with a market capitalization of over $100 billion. Singapore market maker Amber Group has acquired… pic.twitter.com/XOHFIUmKtJ
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 1, 2024
Amber Group has expanded its operations in Japan through acquisition and the rebranding of Japanese crypto exchange DeCurret to Amber Japan in 2022. The company, however, has faced financial difficulties due to the exposure of some of its trading capital to the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX.
Following the collapse of FTX, Amber Group pivoted its fundraising plans and raised $300 million Series C funding round in December 2022. The round was led by Fenbushi Capital, with participation from notable backers including Temasek, Sequoia China, Pantera, Tiger and Coinbase. Amber Group said the funding would help protect customers who lost money due to the collapse of FTX.
This latest initiative is part of Sony’s strategy to diversify its portfolio, whose market value already exceeds $100 billion. Sony has been exploring the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain in games for a few years.
In March 2023, Sony filed a patent for an “NFT Framework for the transfer and use of digital assets between gaming platforms”. This document describes a system for using NFTs across multiple platforms, including features such as NFT-locked gameplay, limited-use in-game tasks, and rewarding players with NFTs.
This is a developing story. We will provide updates on the situation as we learn more.
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