Japanese tech giant Sony is preparing to run a cryptocurrency exchange business through WhaleFin, which it acquired in 2023. With this, Sony will have found itself testing more difficult waters in the Web3 domain, which is not only laden with financial but also regulatory risks. worldwide scrutiny. Sony plans to restart the exchange by launching a new app, dedicated to crypto trading and exchange services. It is not yet clear whether WhaleFin will remain the name of this 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 a flagship digital asset platform. In August 2023, Sony's Quetta web unit bought Amber Japan, which was Whalefin's parent company at the time. On Monday, July 1, Amber Japan made an official announcement about the name change to S.Blox. Alongside the announcement, S.Blox also revealed that crypto exchange WhaleFin is preparing to start operations once again.
“WhaleFin is planned to be renewed in the future. In addition to redesigning the user interface screen, the renewal of WhaleFin will include the launch of a new application to provide a more user-friendly service. After the renewal , we also plan to further expand the supported currencies and features,” the announcement notes.
With this, the Sony Group is looking to enhance its product and service offerings by integrating crypto-centric features. As of now, neither Sony nor S.Blox have revealed the exact timeline by which the WhaleFin crypto exchange will restart its operations.
Sony's commitment to Web3 so far
Sony, which is a popular name in the technology industry, is now looking to delve into the Web3 arena. In 2022, Sony Music Entertainment said it was exploring avenues to bring artists and music together with the NFT industry. At the time, Sony had filed a trademark application for the Columbia Records logo, intending to use it around NFT-backed media. In the same year, Sony filed a patent to track digital collectibles within its gaming ecosystem, using NFT.
In 2023, Sony Network Communications teamed up with smart contract platform Astar Network to explore how blockchain could solve persistent problems in the gaming, entertainment, music and imaging industries.
Sony recently said that it plans to allow players to assemble all of their digital collectibles and create what is called a Super Fungible Token, attempting to carve out a new niche within the NFT sector.
In 2023, Fumio Kishida, Japan's prime minister, 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 taken pro-crypto steps to thrive in the country.
