Japan's SBI to offer XRP as shareholders benefit later this year

Japanese financial services giant SBI Holdings is set to give shareholders the option to receive XRP as a benefit.

Under the new option, shareholders can obtain as much as 8,000 yen worth of the digital asset XRP (~$74), SBI announced Friday. The record date for the benefit is March 31.

Shareholders holding 100 to 1,000 shares as of March 31, and those holding 1,000+ shares and holding for less than one year, can choose to receive 2,000 yen (~$18) worth of XRP.

Those holding SBI’s shares for more than a year and have 1,000 or more shares as of March 31 can choose to receive 8,000 yen (~$74) worth of XRP. One XRP is currently valued at around $0.25, according to CoinMarketCap.

Notably, there are conditions. Shareholders must be residents of Japan and have an account at SBI's crypto exchange VC Trade.

Alternatively, shareholders also have an option to receive health supplements offered by SBI Holdings’ subsidiary SBI Alapromo.

This is not the first time the SBI group is giving shareholder benefits in XRP. In August, SBI subsidiary MorningStar Japan paid out dividends in the digital asset.

SBI is one of the leading investors in Ripple. Most recently, SBI took part in Ripple's $200 million Series C round.