In a recent revelation, on-chain researcher BoringSleuth has connected the dots between the meteoric rise of the meme token Shiba Inu and SBI Holdings, Japan’s largest digital bank conglomerate. The researcher’s deep dive into the financials and strategic moves of SBI Holdings suggests a potential orchestration behind the scenes.
BoringSleuth’s revelation began with a cryptic equation a few day ago: “SHIB = SBIH = SBI Holdings, Japan’s largest Digital Bank Conglomerate.” In today’s Twitter (X) thread the on-chain sleuth delved into the timeline of events that led to the rise of Shiba Inu.
“On July 1st 2020, SBI Group invested $30 million USD into B2C2 for an uncontrolling interest, just 30 days before the token SHIB was launched on the Ethereum blockchain,” BoringSleuth stated. This investment is significant because B2C2 is believed to be the workplace of SHIB’s anonymous founder, Ryoshi.
As Bitcoinist reported, the on-chain sleuth claimed in a research published last week that the anonymous founder of Shiba Inu, Ryoshi, is a combination of two individuals: Ryo Suzuki and Tsuyoshi Maruyama, both former advisors to B2C2 Group. Interestingly, B2C2 Group is the current market maker for Robinhood, whose wallet at one point accounted for over 25% of the total SHIB supply.
SBI Holding The Mastermind Behind Shiba Inu?
At the beginning of his remarks BoringSleuth highlighted that despite a significant donation of SHIB tokens to Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, the token didn’t experience any significant surge in volume or price in the early days after its inception (August 2020). However, the dynamics changed once “the chess pieces were in place.”
BoringSleuth pointed out that during the summer of 2020, SBI Group was primarily recognized in the crypto community for being the largest institutional holder of XRP. With XRP facing regulatory challenges and a lawsuit from the SEC, SBI Group made a strategic move by purchasing 90% of B2C2, a UK-based crypto liquidity and trading firm.
“In January of 2021, SHIB liquidity pools were drastically beefed up. In May of 2021 SHIB saw a massive price surge when Buterin announced he was donating 10% to COVID charities and burning the other 90%. SHIB had its moment, skyrocketing in price. A well played and well-timed story,” he added.
The researcher then posed a critical question: “How do I know SBI group, or B2C2 even held any SHIB?” He answered by revealing that SBI Group indeed held SHIB through both of their crypto entities, making it one of only 11 crypto assets they handle on both the SBI VC Trade platform and the Bitpoint exchange.
BoringSleuth’s analysis of SBI Group’s financial growth is particularly striking. According to SBI Group’s 2023 Investor Presentation, in the 20 years leading up to 2020, SBI Group never held more than ¥6 Billion in assets. In 2023’s report, they booked ¥22.3 Billion in assets. In 2019, they registered an unprecedented profit of ¥52.5 Billion, marking an increase of approximately ¥7 Billion from their 2015 figures.
Advancing three years, SBI Group’s profits soared sixfold to ¥367 Billion. This surge elevated their Earnings Per Share (EPS) to nearly ten times its previous value within a mere three-year span. While SBI’s revenue saw a 44% year-over-year growth in 2022, their gross profit astonishingly multiplied by eight times. The researcher therefore asks the question:
How could a well established, 23 year old Organization, with 87 different companies stretched across 24 different countries around the Globe, all of a sudden grow their Profits by >800%, after experience relatively flat to slighly up growth for 21 years?
Drawing a conclusion from the data, BoringSleuth stated, “They experienced growth like this because they sold worthless meme bags to holders who bought into the hype. I know many people that bought and lost. Who didn’t lose? SBI Group and their shareholders.”
While BoringSleuth’s revelations have stirred the crypto community, it remains if there is any reaction from SBI Holdings or the Shiba Inu development team around anonymous Shytoshi Kusama.
At press time, SHIB traded at $0.00000763. Over the next few weeks, a directional move for Shiba Inu could be in the offing: will the price perform a bullish breakout as a result of a triple bottom or a sharp dip due to the pending descending triangle.
Featured image from Forbes, chart from TradingView.com
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