SBI e-Sports, a subsidiary of the Japanese financial services giant SBI Holdings, has hired two e-sports players to its professional team, an is set to pay them their entire salaries in XRP, the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
In two separate announcements, SBI e-Sports revealed that it recruited two top gamers: Subary Sagano, known as Mickey, an Kenji Suzuki, known as Ken in the gaming world. Both players will receive their entire salaries in cryptocurrency based on their own wishes.
The new hires saw both players share their enthusiasm on social media. While they did not elaborate on their cryptocurrency salaries, the PRs pointed out they both agreed to being paid in XRP.
The option of being paid in XRP for SBI e-Sports players comes after the firm signed a sponsorship deal with SBI Holdings’ venture capital arm, SVI VC Trade. The move brought XRP into the growing eSports scene, and will see SBI e-Sports players have the SBI VC Trade logo on their uniforms.
SBI e-Sports reportedly fields professional teams, coordinates with industry media and provides consulting services for the industry. The sponsorship deal’s goal is to seemingly help bolster SBI Holdings’ brand recognition.
It’s worth noting SBI Holdings is a well-known supporter of XRP, so much so that earlier this year it gave its shareholders the option to receive XRP as a benefit.
The crypto-friendly financial institution allowed shareholders with 100 to 1,000 shares in the registry as of March 31, 2020, or shareholders with over 1,000 shares for less than one year to choose a benefit of 2,000 yen in XRP ($18) or a selection of health products.
Holders who had been on the registry for longer than one year with more than 1,000 shares were eligible for 8,000 yen in XRP ($74). The benefit was restricted to shareholders residing in Japan.
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