SBI Holdings’ CEO: Ripple’s partnerships could help improve supply chains amid COVID-19 pandemic

Yoshitaka Kitao, the CEO of SBI Holdings, a Japanese financial firm has suggested Ripple join hands with multiple multinational firms and financial institutions. Kitao, who is also a Ripple Board member shared this proposal while talking to reporters that were gathered for an SBI conference call. Reportedly, his recommendation was partially influenced by how Japan is handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the conference call, Kitao noted that his lawyers would attend the next Ripple executive committee meeting. He added that he had urged them to promote new collaborations between Ripple and multinational organizations like Japanese trading firm Big Shosha.

According to Kitao,

Blockchain solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic

Per Kitao, the use cases of the blockchain in supply chains should increase following the coronavirus outbreak. He noted that SBI Holdings had seen significant disruption in the supply chains of essential supplies during the pandemic. For instance, he highlighted how Japan is dependent on China for the supply of masks. While the supply was initially fine, the pandemic has seen supply chains start breaking. According to him, this dependency puts Japan in serious trouble.

Due to this, he believes the transparency and traceability offered by blockchain networks such as Ripple will play a significant rule in the future when each country is developing its production system.

He added that,

Ripple’s and SBI’s mutually beneficial partnership

This news comes after Ripple and SBI Holdings first joined hands in 2016 to launch SBI Ripple Asia. Per SBI Holdings, this project provides a next-gen DLT-based payment platform for financial institutions and remittance transfer providers. Through this initiative, Ripple benefits from the promotion of its XRP token.

Do you Kitao’s proposal of partnerships between Ripple and multinational firms will help alleviate supply chain issues brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.