Yoshitaka Kitao, CEO of Japanese financial group SBI Holdings, has publicly reaffirmed his trust in XRP with a one-word answer: “YES.”
The response came on November 12, 2026, after an X user told Kitao that recent weeks had been “truly exhausting” for XRP holders and that some feel Ripple has left them behind. Kitao answered in English, a notable choice since most of his recent posts are in Japanese.
The statement is the latest signal in a long-running relationship between SBI and Ripple. SBI first partnered with Ripple in 2016, joining Ripple's Series B round and launching the joint venture SBI Ripple Asia, in which SBI owns roughly 60% and Ripple 40%. That same year, SBI Ripple Asia formed a consortium of Japanese banks to test Ripple's payment technology; the group later grew to more than 60 banks.
Since then, SBI launched the interbank app MoneyTap in 2018, began XRP trading on its exchange now known as SBI VC Trade, and in 2019 Kitao joined Ripple's board of directors. From 2020, SBI distributed XRP to shareholders as bonuses and used it for remittances through SBI Remit, including on the Japan-Philippines corridor. SBI continued working with Ripple throughout the SEC lawsuit that ran from December 2020 until 2025.
Earlier this year, on February 15, 2026, Kitao denied rumors that SBI holds $10 billion worth of XRP, saying SBI holds around 9% of Ripple Labs, which he argued could be more valuable. At SBI's quarterly briefing on November 2, 2026, he also said Bitcoin is mostly bought to hold, while XRP's value depends on its use in payments and business ecosystems. In addition, SBI VC Trade and Ripple agreed in August 2025 to bring the RLUSD stablecoin to Japan, and in October 2025 SBI invested $200 million in Evernorth, a company that holds XRP in its treasury.
At press time, XRP was trading at $1.02.
