Mr. Kitao's Vision for Blockchain at WebX Asia Highlights the SBI Group Partners with XDC Network.

 At the recent WebX Asia event in Japan, Mr. Yoshitaka Kitao, Representative Director, Chairman, President & CEO of SBI Group, spotlighted the partnership that could reshape blockchain technology's role in global trade finance and cross-border payments. The collaboration between SBI Group and the XDC Network marks a significant development in the application of blockchain technology across Asia and beyond. 

Crypto Eri, a well-known figure in the crypto community, shared the excitement by posting a video of Mr. Kitao’s presentation on X (formerly Twitter). In the video, Mr. Kitao laid out the strategic objectives and the vision behind this groundbreaking collaboration, which aims to leverage the advanced blockchain capabilities of the XDC Network to address some of the most pressing challenges in trade finance and cross-border payments.

The Birth of SBI XDC Network APAC

This new initiative is driven by SBI XDC Network APAC, a joint venture between SBI Holdings and the XDC Network, officially established in December 2023. The partnership's primary objective is to expand the market for the XDC token blockchain within Japan and the broader Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. By integrating the robust capabilities of XDC Network, SBI aims to harness its potential as a transformative force in global economic activities.

A New Frontier in Blockchain Technology

XDC Network is a carbon-neutral, enterprise-grade, Layer 1 blockchain that is EVM-compatible and has been operational since 2019. Known for its wide-ranging applications, including trade finance, payments, decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN), real-world assets (RWA), and tokenization, the XDC Network is a beacon of innovation in the blockchain space. By leveraging these capabilities, the joint venture, SBI XDC Network APAC, aims to promote blockchain-based solutions that align with SBI Group's broader vision for the future of financial technology.

Mr. Kitao emphasized that SBI Group's efforts will extend beyond merely providing services related to the XDC token that is available on SBI VC Trade where XDC is paired against JPY and 40+ exchanges with access to almost every country in the world. The company is committed to expanding the use cases of the XDC Network's blockchain technology in various economic sectors, particularly in trade finance and cross-border payments. This approach aligns with the growing demand for secure, efficient, and transparent solutions in these fields, where conventional systems often need to catch up.

The Proof-of-Concept Experiment: A Game Changer

The collaboration has already initiated its first groundbreaking project: a proof-of-concept (PoC) experiment that connects the XDC Network with the Corda platform provided by SBI R3 Japan and the R3 Corda Bridge. This PoC aims to revolutionize business-to-business (B2B) transactions, particularly regarding fiat payments.

Under this experiment, fiat payments generated by B2B transactions will be processed via XDC through the Corda and Corda Bridge platforms. By leveraging a hybrid blockchain model encompassing private and public characteristics, the PoC is set to provide a comprehensive, one-stop service that simultaneously settles private information (such as transaction details) and public elements (like value transfer). This innovative approach promises a more efficient and streamlined payment method for cross-border transactions, particularly in international trade, than traditional fiat currency transactions.

The Future of Trade Finance and Payments in Asia and beyond

With this PoC, SBI XDC Network APAC aims to demonstrate the tangible benefits of combining public and private blockchains to create a seamless cross-border payment solution. By settling transaction information and value transfer in a single platform, the partnership hopes to provide a level of efficiency and transparency unmatched by conventional systems.

The implications of this partnership extend beyond just Japan and the APAC region. The collaboration between SBI Group and XDC Network represents a forward-looking approach to utilizing blockchain technology, setting the stage for a new era in trade finance and cross-border payments.

As the world moves towards more digitized and decentralized solutions, the partnership between SBI Group and XDC Network could become a pivotal model for how financial institutions and blockchain networks collaborate to unlock new potentials for economic growth and development.

The current CoinMarketCap ranking is #126, with a live market cap of $395,488,836 USD. It has a circulating supply of 14,921,155,785 XDC coins and the max among which 216.00M XDC is locked on the TradeFinex platform, 3,060,826,898 XDC staked on Masternode and more XDC staked on different staking platforms. 

XDC Network price while writing this article is $0.026505 USD with a 24-hour trading volume of $5,354,733 USD. XDC is traded on the exchanges namely Kucoin, Bitfinex, Uphold, Gate.io, HTX, CEX.io, HitBTC, Huobi, Indodax, Bitrue, CoinDCX, Giotus, Coins.ph, Bitmart, FMFW, Lbank, MEXC, BLOX, Mercatox, CoinEX, StealthEx, Whitebit, Bybit, CoinW, DigiFinex, BuyUcoin, Liquid, Bequant, ProBit, Changelly Pro, Proton DEX, Kinesis. XDC is also listed on Xswap DEX, Globiance DEX, Fathom DEX, Transak, Swapika, AtomX, Topper, Changelly, SwapZone, Simple Swap, Unocoin, Koinpark, and more exchanges with an option to trade with local currency, the list can be found at Get XDC on the website.