SBI to Buy Bitbank in $289M Deal, Forming Japan’s Largest Crypto Exchange

Japan’s SBI Holdings has moved to fully take control of the Bitbank cryptocurrency exchange in a deal valued at 46.7 billion yen (about $289 million), building a larger, more consolidated crypto trading platform under one regulated umbrella. The agreement follows an initial announcement made in May, which positioned the combination as a potential scale-up into the country’s largest crypto exchange.

On Thursday, SBI said its wholly owned subsidiary, SBICAH, will acquire Bitbank shares from Bitbank CEO Noriyuki Hirosue and other shareholders, then participate in a third-party share allotment. After that, Bitbank will buy back shares currently held by MIXI and Ceres, leaving SBI with 100% indirect ownership. SBI expects the transaction to close around October, subject to regulatory approval.

Key takeaways

• SBI will pay 46.7 billion yen to gain full indirect control of Bitbank, aiming to accelerate its position in Japan’s regulated exchange market.
• The restructuring plan includes a third-party share allotment and a Bitbank share buyback from MIXI and Ceres, with SBI ending at 100% indirect ownership.
• SBI forecasts the combined group will manage about 1.1 trillion yen in assets under custody and reach roughly 2.92 million crypto accounts, based on end-April figures.
• Bitbank’s trading has been relatively muted for months, with CoinGecko data showing daily volume typically below $50 million over much of the past four months.
• SBI says the enlarged exchange footprint could add another distribution channel for stablecoins, tokenized assets, and onchain financial products.

Why SBI’s Bitbank control matters to Japan’s crypto market

For investors and market participants, the main significance of the Bitbank deal is not only consolidation, but also capacity—SBI is trying to connect an exchange-led customer base with a broader digital-asset product lineup. SBI’s stated goal is to expand its regulated crypto exchange operations and customer reach, which it argues could support distribution of stablecoins, tokenized assets, and other onchain financial services.

In effect, the acquisition is designed to strengthen SBI’s role across multiple layers of Japan’s crypto ecosystem: trading infrastructure, custody and account management, and settlement or product distribution. That matters in a market where regulatory clarity and institutional participation are key constraints—and where distribution channels can be as important as underlying technology.

How the transaction will be structured

SBI’s announcement outlines a multi-step process. First, SBICAH will acquire Bitbank shares from Hirosue and other existing shareholders. It will then subscribe to shares issued through a third-party share allotment. After those steps, Bitbank is expected to repurchase the shares held by MIXI and Ceres.

The result, SBI says, is that the group will hold 100% indirect ownership once the buyback completes. SBI expects the overall deal to close around October, but only after it receives regulatory clearance—an important reminder that Japan’s exchange and stablecoin frameworks rely on approvals and compliance review.

Scale effects: custody and accounts, plus the trading backdrop

Alongside the ownership changes, SBI provided combined operating figures for the enlarged group. According to SBI, combining Bitbank with SBI VC Trade would bring the group to about 1.1 trillion yen in assets under custody and roughly 2.92 million crypto accounts, using data from the end of April.

SBI also claims that this combined business would rank first among Japanese crypto exchanges by assets under custody and among the largest by account numbers. While the exact competitive landscape can shift with market activity and reporting periods, the direction of travel is clear: SBI is targeting scale metrics that are closely watched by institutions, compliance teams, and potential partners.

Trading liquidity is another piece of the picture. CoinGecko data cited by SBI indicates Bitbank’s daily trading volume has generally stayed below $50 million for most of the last four months. The exchange’s activity is heavily concentrated in key fiat pairs—BTC/JPY accounts for 39.5% of volume, with XRP/JPY and ETH/JPY each at 19.7%.

That concentration underscores why integration could matter: combining Bitbank with SBI VC Trade may help SBI manage customer routing, product access, and onchain distribution more efficiently—especially if volumes are expected to respond to broader cross-platform adoption.

SBI’s broader push: stablecoins and tokenized financial markets

The Bitbank acquisition fits into a wider strategy by SBI to extend from trading into digital-asset settlement and tokenized finance. SBI frames the move as additional infrastructure for its evolving product suite.

Earlier this year, SBI and Startale Group unveiled Strium, a layer-1 blockchain intended to support around-the-clock trading and settlement for tokenized equities and real-world assets. In parallel, SBI has been expanding stablecoin-related capabilities in Japan.

Most recently, SBI said that on Wednesday, SBI and Startale launched JPYSC, a yen-pegged stablecoin. SBI stated that the token is issued by SBI Shinsei Trust Bank and distributed by SBI VC Trade. Initially, JPYSC circulation is limited to transfers within SBI VC Trade accounts, with public blockchain circulation planned after resolving outstanding legal and tax conditions.

On the same day, Ripple and SBI Group also launched Ripple USD (RLUSD) in Japan via SBI VC Trade. SBI said RLUSD became available to both institutional and retail customers after receiving approval under Japan’s regulatory framework for foreign-issued stablecoins.

Taken together, these developments highlight why exchange ownership is strategically valuable. If distribution for stablecoins and tokenized instruments depends on access points that regulated exchanges can provide, acquiring a bigger platform and integrating accounts can directly influence adoption timelines—at least from the perspective of product rollout and customer onboarding.

Investors should watch two things next: whether SBI clears the remaining regulatory steps to complete the Bitbank acquisition around October, and how the combined operations evolve in practice—particularly whether SBI can translate scale in accounts and custody into stronger liquidity and smoother distribution for JPYSC, RLUSD, and future tokenized offerings.