Financial services firm SBI Holdings in a statement explained that Ripple's assets under Japanese law are "crypto currency" assets.
The statement came after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Ripple Labs for allegedly failing to register cryptocurrencies as securities in the United States (US).
The SBI allegation refers to a study article by Sadakazu Osaki of the Nomura Research Institute who asserted XRP as a “crypto currency” asset, not as a security under Japanese law.
In October, Ripple reportedly plans to invest in SBI's subsidiary, MoneyTap, with the aim of using RippleNet technology to reduce transfer charges in Japan.
The head of operations of the crypto exchange firm, BitFlyer USA, described SBI's allegation as merely to reduce the impact of its reputation in Japan following the Ripple suit.
Following the news of the suit, many crypto currency firms around the world turned away from XRP including Bitwise in the US, Bitstamp in Europe and OSL in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, OKCoin and Coinbase will block XRP starting January 2021.
