Yoshitaka Kitao, chief executive of Japanese financial services group SBI Holdings, answered with a single word — "YES" — when an X user asked him point-blank whether he still trusts XRP.

The reply was posted from Kitao's official X account in response to a blunt message from the same user, who described recent weeks in pointed terms while pressing the SBI chief on his stance toward the token.

The brief exchange drew attention given Kitao's long-standing, publicly stated support for XRP and his company's deep business ties with Ripple, the San Francisco-based blockchain company associated with the token. The format added to the exchange's weight: rather than a private message, the answer was a public reply from the official account of a corporate leader whose group runs businesses tied to the token, making even a one-word response an attributable public statement.

A Deep Institutional Alliance With Ripple

SBI Holdings, one of Japan's largest financial groups, maintains one of the closest institutional relationships with Ripple of any company worldwide. The two firms jointly operate SBI Ripple Asia, a long-standing venture focused on applying Ripple's payment technology to cross-border money transfers across Asia. SBI also runs SBI VC Trade, a licensed cryptocurrency exchange in Japan where XRP is among the listed assets.

These ties are what give the reply its substance: Kitao speaks for a group with operational standing in the XRP ecosystem — a cross-border payments venture and a licensed trading venue — not the detached view of an outside commentator. Kitao, who has served on Ripple's board of directors, has repeatedly voiced confidence in XRP at public appearances, framing it as a practical instrument for international settlement. His one-word affirmation puts that position on the record once again. For readers tracking the relationship going forward, the group's Ripple-focused ventures and Kitao's own public statements are the channels where that stance has been expressed so far.

The original report was first published by COINOTAG: SBI CEO Yoshitaka Kitao Answers "Yes" When Asked if He Still Trusts XRP