Sony Enters Exchange Market! Renames Amber Japan to S.BLOX After Acquisition

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Sony Ventures into Digital Currency Market

Japanese conglomerate Sony, in addition to acquiring the Japanese blockchain company Astar, has announced plans to launch a new digital currency exchange subsidiary, S.BLOX, through the transformation of the trading service platform WhaleFin acquired last year.

Gaming giant Sony invests 3.5 million euros in Japanese public chain Astar Network developer Startale, creating Web3 infrastructure

Transformation of Amber Japan into S.BLOX Co.

Legacy of Amber Group in Japan

Amber Group, a Singapore-registered cryptocurrency trading service company, acquired the Japanese compliant exchange DeCurret in 2022 and renamed it WhaleFin. However, Amber Group faced events such as the departure of FTX and co-founder, leading to external investors taking over.

In August 2023, Sony Group's wholly-owned subsidiary Quetta Web acquired Amber Japan, and the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange "WhaleFin" changed its name to S.BLOX on July 1, 2024, as announced here.

The newly established company plans to collaborate closely with other enterprises within the Sony Group to enhance the value and influence of its digital currency trading services. The revamped platform will feature a redesigned user interface and a new app.

Leadership to be Led by External Directors from Startale

Sota Watanabe, Founder and CEO of Startale Labs, announced that an external director from Startale will lead Sony's new digital currency exchange. However, specific details regarding this leadership role and the exact launch date of S.BLOX digital currency exchange have not been disclosed.

Here is the Japanese article. If you may know, the head of web3 who is going to lead exchange at Sony is our external director of the company. We have made a plan of the chain layer 1.5 years ago and we entered the execution phase.https://t.co/vKKaZkQ8oV

— Sota | Astar + Startale (@WatanabeSota) July 1, 2024

Sony's Innovation in Gaming and NFTs

In addition to the digital currency exchange plans, Sony has also entered the realm of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Last year, the PlayStation manufacturer applied for a patent for "super fungible tokens" aimed at providing more flexible NFTs as in-game assets. Despite the declining popularity of NFTs, Sony may bring new dynamics to the NFT space.

Gaming giant Sony applies for NFT patent! Committed to cross-platform use of digital assets for PlayStation and Xbox