Sony Group, one of Japan’s largest corporations, has reportedly acquired Amber Japan, marking its official entry into the cryptocurrency exchange market.

This was revealed in an exclusive report by Chinese crypto journalist and market analyst Wu Blockchain.

Sony, with a diverse portfolio including gaming, music, and cameras, has a market value exceeding US$100 billion.

Amber Japan originated from Singapore-based Amber Group, which closed a US$300 million Series C round led by Fenbushi Capital US in December 2022.

This Series C round was the largest investment the firm received, following a US$200 million Series B+ round earlier that year.

In early 2022, Amber Group acquired the regulated Japanese cryptocurrency trading platform DeCurret and rebranded it as Amber Japan.

The company faced significant challenges following the collapse of FTX, leading to a suspected debt-to-equity transaction with Fenbushi Capital, the lead investor of its Series C round.

Before the collapse of FTX, Amber was completing an extension to its Series B+ at a US$3 billion valuation.

Despite claiming it had less than 10% of its total trading capital with FTX, Amber Group had to rebalance some positions and slash its workforce by 30-40%, scrap expansion plans in Europe and the United States, and pause its new metaverse project.

Additionally, Amber Group acquired Singaporean digital assets trading platform Sparrow for an undisclosed amount.

Sparrow secured a Major Payment Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to provide Digital Payment Token services in August 2022.

Amber Group’s investors include notable entities such as Temasek, Sequoia China, Pantera, Tiger, and Coinbase​.