SBI Holdings, a major Japanese financial company, has agreed to buy crypto exchange Bitbank for about $289 million. This deal is expected to make SBI the largest crypto exchange in Japan by assets under custody. The acquisition will help SBI grow its digital asset business, boost its presence in regulated crypto markets, and support its plans for stablecoins and tokenized financial products. The deal should close around October, pending regulatory approval.
According to the agreement, SBI’s fully owned subsidiary will buy shares from Bitbank’s current shareholders, then complete a third-party share allotment. After that, Bitbank will buy back stakes from other investors, so SBI will end up with full indirect ownership of the exchange.
This acquisition greatly increases SBI’s presence in crypto. After merging with SBI VC Trade, the combined business is expected to manage about 1.1 trillion yen in digital assets and serve nearly 2.92 million customer accounts. This would make it Japan’s largest crypto exchange by assets and one of the biggest by number of users.
Bitbank is a well-known, regulated exchange in Japan, mainly trading Bitcoin, XRP, and Ether against the yen. By adding Bitbank to its group, SBI gets another key platform for offering stablecoins, tokenized assets, and other blockchain financial services.
This deal is part of SBI’s larger blockchain strategy. Recently, SBI launched a layer-1 blockchain for tokenized assets with Startale Group, introduced the yen-backed stablecoin JPYSC, and rolled out Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin in Japan through SBI VC Trade after getting regulatory approval. These moves show SBI’s increasing focus on regulated digital finance and tokenization.
As more traditional financial firms move into digital assets, the Bitbank deal shows how mergers are changing Japan’s crypto industry. With better infrastructure, more customers, and more stablecoin options, SBI is setting itself up to lead Japan’s growing blockchain economy.
Source: sbigroup.co.jp
SBI to Acquire Japan’s Third-Largest Crypto Exchange for $289 Million
Japanese financial group SBI announced it will acquire crypto asset exchange Bitbank for ¥46.7 billion ($289 million). Upon completion of the deal, Bitbank will become a consolidated subsidiary of SBI. The… pic.twitter.com/e3w17QqIuP
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