SBI Holdings subsidiary continues its XRP shareholder benefits.

According to an official announcement Friday, SBI Holdings subsidiary, Morningstar has approved year-end shareholder benefits in the form of XRP. The new dividend payout option comes as part of the company’s year-end reward program to thank its shareholders for their continued support in addition to interim shareholder benefits. Under the program, Morningstar will provide XRP rewards of 2,500 Japanese yen ($23) units per 100 shares owned by shareholders as of March 31, 2021.

Morningstar started paying out dividends in XRP back in 2019. 

The exact amount of XRP offered to shareholders will be determined in accordance with a market price of XRP recorded on June 30, 2021, SBI noted. As part of the initiative, Morningstar will ask shareholders to open crypto accounts via SBI Group’s crypto subsidiary SBI VC Trade. Earlier, Morningstar started paying out dividends in XRP back in 2019, offering 30 XRP per 100 shares. SBI Group has weighed in on paying dividends in XRP cryptocurrency and considering launching such a program in 2020. SBI has been supportive of Ripple amid ongoing legal action against the firm in the United States.

Ripple files a response to SEC allegations. 

Ripple has issued an official response to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allegations over the illegal sale of XRP tokens, which SEC claims are unregistered security. In the court documents filed in the Southern District of New York, the word “denies” comes up 440 times as Ripple refutes the SEC’s allegation that the firm engaged in an illegal securities offering when they first issued XRP to investors. The official court document reads, “Ripple denies it engaged in any offering of securities; denies the inaccurate characterization of the legal advice Ripple received regarding XRP; and denies that it engaged in a single ‘offering’ of XRP.”