SBI Holdings has emerged as the leading cryptocurrency exchange operator in Japan by custodied assets, following its full acquisition of Bitbank for ¥46.7 billion ($289 million). The transaction, finalized on October 1, brings Bitbank under SBI’s umbrella as a wholly owned subsidiary and consolidates the holdings of two prominent Japanese crypto platforms.
Deal structure and user impact
SBI Holdings is a major Japanese financial services conglomerate with expanding operations in the digital asset sector. The Bitbank acquisition was completed in several phases through SBICAH, a wholly owned SBI unit. SBICAH initially purchased 53,704 shares from Bitbank founder and CEO Noriyuki Hirosue and other individual shareholders. The next phase involved Bitbank issuing 48,952 new shares to SBICAH via a third-party allotment.
Cash raised from this share issuance was then used by Bitbank to repurchase the stakes held by MIXI and Ceres, its largest corporate investors. The repurchases, completed on October 1, paved the way for SBI to become the sole parent of Bitbank. Despite the change in ownership, Bitbank stated that the company’s approximately 960,000 registered users will see no significant changes to its services.
Bitbank affirmed that existing “bitbank” service users can expect business as usual, while the company plans to leverage SBI Group’s financial resources and customer base for its future growth.
Management changes at Bitbank
As part of the new corporate structure, Tomohiko Kondo, president of SBI VC Trade—SBI’s existing crypto exchange—has joined Bitbank’s board as a director. Noriyuki Hirosue will continue to serve as Bitbank’s representative director, president, and CEO, while also becoming an outside director at SBI VC Trade. Concurrently, Satoshi Takagi, Nobuhiro Kanayama, and Masaya Kubota have exited their roles as outside directors on Bitbank’s board.
SBI’s strategy and market impact
According to digital asset advisory firm Architect Partners, SBI’s decision to pay $289 million for Bitbank was driven more by a desire to scale under regulatory pressures than by immediate profitability. Bitbank brings with it around ¥570 billion ($3.5 billion) in assets under custody and nearly one million accounts, pushing the combined SBI platforms to approximately ¥1.1 trillion (about $7 billion) in customer assets and 2.92 million accounts, as reported at the end of April. This positions SBI Holdings at the top among domestic Japanese operators in terms of held assets.
In addition to scale, Bitbank contributes a Financial Services Agency license, broad altcoin liquidity, and an institutional custody business. Architect Partners observed that these features would have been costly and time-consuming for SBI to develop independently.
Mini dictionary: Financial Services Agency (FSA), Japan’s regulatory body that supervises financial services, including securities and cryptocurrency activities, ensuring market integrity and consumer protection.
Architect Partners’ co-founder Steve Payne predicted further consolidation within the Japanese crypto market, identifying bitFlyer as a likely future target for acquisition due to its status as the last large independent exchange in the country.
Architect Partners emphasized that scale and compliance are becoming decisive factors in Japan’s crypto sector, making mergers and acquisitions increasingly likely.
| Exchange | Assets Under Custody | User Accounts | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|
| SBI Holdings (post-acquisition) | ¥1.1 trillion (~$7 billion) | 2.92 million | Wholly owned by SBI |
| Bitbank (pre-acquisition) | ¥570 billion (~$3.5 billion) | 960,000 | Independent |
Regulatory context and previous acquisitions
SBI’s latest acquisition continues a multi-year trend of consolidation in Japan’s crypto sector. Previously, SBI VC Trade absorbed TaoTao in 2020 and acquired customer accounts and custody assets from DMM Bitcoin following a hack in 2024. SBI also completed the full acquisition of Bitpoint Japan in April 2026 after taking a stake in the company in 2022.
These deals unfold as Japan shifts crypto assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, aligning them with traditional securities and proposing a 20% flat tax on crypto gains. Rising compliance expectations and higher capital costs are placing pressure on smaller independent platforms, accelerating the current wave of acquisitions.
