Ripple Partner SBI Mints 920 NFTs on XRPL for the 2025 World Expo in Japan

Japanese financial giant and Ripple partner SBI begins the minting of XRPL-based NFTs for the 2025 World Expo in Japan, with 920 collectibles minted.

SBI Holdings has begun minting non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for the forthcoming 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Japan. This development follows the announcement of SBI’s plans to launch the “EXPO 2025 Digital Wallet NFT” service six months ago.

SBI Mints 920 XRPL-based NFTs

Emi Yoshikawa, Ripple’s VP for Strategic Initiatives, called attention to the latest development in a post on X, building on an official disclosure from SBI VC Trade, the crypto exchange subsidiary of the SBI Holdings group. Notably, Yoshikawa pointed to on-chain data that allows network participants to track the minting process in real-time.

🇯🇵 Japan’s SBI has started minting the World Expo 2025 NFTs on the XRP Ledger!!

You can see it here in real time 👇https://t.co/KTCURPlpTO https://t.co/eU8Zcd242y pic.twitter.com/RNlJyMU6cK

— Emi Yoshikawa {X} (@emy_wng) July 1, 2024

Data sourced by XRPL explorer Bithomp shows that the company has now successfully minted 920 NFTs. Interestingly, the firm created 908 of these collectibles today, on July 1, marking a substantial step forward in their project.

SBI further shared further information on the project in a press release today. Dubbed Myakoon, the project will provide attendees of the World Expo with unique digital collectibles. The first 5,000 visitors will receive these NFTs as part of a commemorative initiative. 

Further Details of the SBI NFT Project

Per the release, the NFT project looks to engage both virtual and physical participants in the Expo, granting them an opportunity to collect and create exclusive NFTs. SBI Holdings is spearheading this project through collaboration with its subsidiary SBI VC Trade and SBINFT. 

The Myakoon service is integrated into the EXPO 2025 Digital Wallet, which will allow users to collect and view their NFTs on a dedicated site. Participants can earn these digital collectibles by engaging in various Expo activities, both in the real world and online. The acquired NFTs are non-transferable and non-resellable, ensuring they remain unique to each user.

Myakoon allows users the functions of collecting and making NFTs. Users can gather NFTs by participating in campaigns and selecting original images based on their status in the reward program. The program rewards users with higher statuses by granting them access to rarer images. 

Additionally, users can create their own NFTs by uploading chosen images, making the experience accessible even for newcomers to the NFT space.

To celebrate the launch of Myakoon, SBI is running several campaigns. The initial launch campaign will distribute special NFTs to the first 5,000 users. Furthermore, the firm introduced a gift campaign that will offer luxurious prizes to those who purchase tickets to the Expo. 

The 2025 World Expo in Japan

In addition, adult customers who purchase Expo tickets will receive “Myakupe,” digital assets that they can use for transactions both within and outside the Expo site, as well as Myakoon NFTs. The Expo is expected to hold between April 13 and October 13 next year.

The Osaka Expo will possibly attract over 28 million visitors, providing a vast audience for this digital wallet service. This endeavor comes nearly two years after the XRPL welcomed NFT functionality with the implementation of XLS-20D in August 2022. Since then, the XRPL has seen its NFT ecosystem grow.