Sony Enters the Crypto Market with Acquisition of Amber Japan

Sony, valued at $105.75 billion and ranking as the 146th most valuable company in the world, is a brand everyone knows. You’ve probably watched movies on a Sony TV or played games on a PlayStation. Now, as of July 1st, Sony has ventured into the crypto market by acquiring Amber Japan, a cryptocurrency platform in the Land of the Rising Sun. Amber Japan has since been rebranded to S.BLOX.

Sony aims to make S.BLOX a leading crypto exchange in Japan, directly competing with platforms like Binance, Bybit, and OKX, where Oxido Solutions runs crypto trading bots tailored for institutional investors and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

Sony is making significant moves to expand its presence in Web3. Last year, Sony Network Communications, the conglomerate’s business division, partnered with Japanese blockchain company Startale Labs to build Sony’s own public blockchain network. Sota Watanabe, founder and CEO of Startale Labs, revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that an external director from Startale would lead Sony’s new crypto exchange, though further details weren’t provided. Additionally, Sony applied for a patent last year for a more flexible use of NFTs as in-game assets, which it called “super-fungible tokens.”

Sony is the latest major brand to enter the crypto market, and this is great news for the industry. It adds legitimacy to the space and could increase liquidity, enabling more capital to flow through Oxido Solutions’ trading bots.