Sony resumes operations of acquired Japanese crypto company ‘WhaleFin’
Japanese tech giant Sony is preparing to launch a crypto exchange business through WhaleFin, which it acquired in 2023. This will force Sony to navigate rougher waters in the Web3 domain, which is fraught not only with financial risks but also with regulatory scrutiny around the world. Sony plans to reboot the exchange by launching a new app specifically for crypto exchange and trading services. It is not yet clear whether WhaleFin will remain the name of the exchange or if Sony will change it to mark its new beginning.
About Sony’s History and Future with WhaleFin
In December 2021, Amber Group announced the launch of WhaleFin as its flagship digital asset platform. In August 2023, Sony’s Quetta Web unit acquired Amber Japan, which was the parent company of Whalefin at the time. On Monday, July 1, Amber Japan made a official announcement about the rebranding to S.Blox. In addition to the announcement, S.Blox also announced that the WhaleFin crypto exchange is preparing to resume operations.
“WhaleFin is scheduled to be revamped in the future. In addition to redesigning the UI screen, WhaleFin’s revamp will include the release of a new app to provide a more user-friendly service. After the revamp, we also plan to further expand the supported currencies and features,” the announcement said.
With this, the Sony Group aims to enhance its product and service offerings by integrating crypto-centric features. For now, neither Sony nor S.Blox have disclosed the exact timeline for when the WhaleFin crypto exchange will restart its operations.
Sony’s involvement in Web3 so far
Sony, a popular name in the tech industry, is now looking to dive deeper into the Web3 arena. In 2022, Sony Music Entertainment said it was exploring ways to bring artists and music together with the NFT industry. At the time, Sony had filed a trademark application for the Columbia Records logo, with the intention of using it around NFT-supported media. That same year, Sony filed a patent application to track digital collectibles within its gaming ecosystem, via NFTs.
In 2023, Sony Network Communications entered into a partnership with smart contract platform Astar Network to explore how blockchain could solve persistent problems in the gaming, entertainment, music and imaging industries.
Sony recently announced that it plans to let gamers collect all their digital collectibles and create a so-called Super Fungible Token, hoping to carve out a new niche within the NFT sector.
In 2023, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called Web3 “the next form of capitalism” and expressed his enthusiasm for Japan’s foray into the digital asset sector. Since then, crypto companies like Binance and Mercari have made pro-crypto moves to thrive in the country.
