SoftBank invests 10% of its $5 billion fund in crypto

Japan’s SoftBank is investing 10% of the company’s $5 billion funds in crypto-related assets, a strategy that the bank’s managing director supports even if some tokens are overvalued.

According to the managing director of SoftBank’s Latin America Fund, Paulo Passoni, the most attractive place to invest in Latin America is cryptocurrencies, Bloomberg reported.

“Of course, there’s some froth; of course, not all tokens are worth what the market is saying,” Passoni said at a webcast hosted by Eurasia Group. “I do believe it’s the most relevant thing going on around the globe right now.”

The comments highlight SoftBank’s recent emphasis on cryptocurrencies as the Japanese technology conglomerate doubles down on its commitment to Latin America.

“There’s an old saying in investing: follow the talent — and the most talented people around the globe are going into crypto-related projects,” Passoni added. “I’d say we’re running a crypto school for our team here because we sense that there’s a big discrepancy in knowledge even within our team.”

As reported before, SoftBank announced in September it had invested in 15 of the 25 Latin American unicorns, or startups worth $1 billion or more, including the Colombian delivery app Rappi and Brazilian workout service Gympass. It also backs 2TM Participacoes SA, owner of the biggest Brazil-based cryptocurrency brokerage, which last month raised $50 million in funding. 2TM, valued at roughly $2.2 billion after the latest $50 million fund-raise, is the holding company of Mercado Bitcoin, with 3.2 million customers as of October 2021. During the first 10 months of the year, trade volume at the crypto exchange increased to $6.4 billion, surpassing its total for the first seven years.