SBI Holdings agreed on June 25 to buy all outstanding shares of Japanese crypto exchange Bitbank for ¥46.7 billion (~$288.6 million), giving SBI full ownership of a platform with 2.92 million accounts and approximately ¥1.1 trillion ($6.8 billion) in assets under custody.
Merging Bitbank with SBI VC Trade, SBI's existing exchange unit, would make the combined entity Japan's largest regulated crypto exchange by both accounts and assets, overtaking bitFlyer and Coincheck.
SBI is buying through wholly owned subsidiary SBICAH. The deal runs in two stages: SBI purchases shares from Bitbank CEO Noriyuki Hirosue and individual shareholders starting in August 2026, then Bitbank uses those proceeds to buy back stakes held by gaming company MIXI (26.2%) and internet firm Ceres (22.4%), leaving SBI at 100% ownership. Close is targeted for October 2026, pending Japan Fair Trade Commission clearance.
Bitbank has recorded no hacking incidents since its 2014 founding. Both companies told users the exchange will continue operating without changes to services, fees, or account terms through the transition.
SBI already runs SBI VC Trade and absorbed BITPoint Japan in April 2026. Bitcoin Magazine reported SBI plans to combine customer bases, security and compliance infrastructure, and product development across both platforms, with stablecoin and digital-asset services among the stated targets. No timeline for merging the two exchange interfaces has been disclosed.
The deal was signed the same day Ripple's RLUSD went live in Japan as the country's first regulated dollar stablecoin. SBI is a long-standing Ripple and XRP backer.
Japan's regulators are weighing reclassification of digital assets under stricter financial instruments rules from fiscal 2027. Exchange consolidation has accelerated globally: Coinbase closed its $2.9 billion acquisition of derivatives platform Deribit in August 2025.
