Ripple (XRP) is now available on a Japanese cryptocurrency lending platform

A $XRP loan service has been established by a Japanese cryptocurrency lending business managed by FuelHash, a cryptocurrency services firm founded by Katsuya Konno, a former Softbank and Liquid Exchange executive.

As originally reported by prominent cryptocurrency influencer Sentosumosaba on the microblogging site Twitter, the cryptocurrency is joining stablecoins $USDC and $USDT, as well as major cryptocurrencies such as $BTC, $ETH, $ETC, and $BNB in the loan scheme.

The addition of $XRP to the lending business comes months after other cryptocurrency lending companies, including BlockFi and Celsius Network, declared bankruptcy in response to the bear market that impacted the industry.

The business model of lending platforms resembles that of consumer banks. They collect deposits from clients and lend the money to institutional borrowers, such as market makers, for a certain time period. The platforms get a portion of the income earned on these loans as fees, while the depositors receive the remaining interest.

With Fuelhash, deposited $XRP may be borrowed for 60 to 90 days, with a yearly income between 1% and 1.5%. Minimum use of 100 tokens is needed to access the service.

Although XRP’s acceptance in the United States declined after multiple cryptocurrency exchanges delisted it in response to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Ripple, it has been expanding outside of the country.

As reported by CryptoGlobe, Japanese financial services major SBI Holdings has offered its shareholders the option of receiving $XRP as a bonus for the third consecutive year in 2022, demonstrating the company’s continued support for the beleaguered cryptocurrency.

In 2019, the company began providing stockholders XRP perks for the first time. SBI Holdings has a history of collaborating with Ripple, the main participant in the XRP market, to promote the adoption of XRP via their joint venture SBI Ripple Asia in 2016.

SBI introduced a crypto asset fund in 2021 that invests in XRP and four other prominent cryptocurrencies: BTC, ETH, BCH, and LTC. Tomoya Asakura, president of SBI affiliate Morningstar Japan K.K., said at the time that the fund would demand a minimum investment of 1 million yen ($8,400).

SBI Holdings has also introduced a new cryptocurrency lending service that allows customers to earn 1% yearly interest on their bitcoin holdings, with ambitions to extend the service to ETH and XRP.

Bill Morgan, who is certified to practise law in both the United Kingdom and Australia, has speculated that the price of $XRP might skyrocket if the SEC’s case against ripple has a “good result.”

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