SBI Holdings is in talks to take a controlling stake in crypto exchange Bitbank

SBI Holdings, a Japanese financial services company operating in banking, securities and insurance, has acquired Bitbank Co., Ltd. CoinPost reported this morning that it has held discussions on capital and business cooperation, and that the crypto exchange may become an integrated subsidiary.

The company intends to acquire shares after completing due diligence, although the timing and structure have not been determined.

Bitbank Co., Ltd. It operates Bitbank, a Tokyo-based crypto exchange that trades Bitcoin and other digital assets against the Japanese yen. The exchange ranks third in Japan by trading volume and market share, making it a key player in the domestic crypto market.

Earlier this month, Bitbank launched Japan's first crypto-backed credit card in partnership with EPOS Card Corp. to enable Visa payments directly from Balance Exchange.

The company has raised capital from investors including Japanese social networking and gaming company Mixi, and is expanding into GameFi and institutional services, preparing for a Tokyo stock exchange listing.

Japanese regulatory change

Japan is in the middle of rewriting the rules for crypto. Lawmakers are moving to fold digital assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, essentially treating them like traditional securities. This means strict compliance, high capital requirements and regulatory hurdles that smaller exchanges will struggle to clear.

SBI is expanding significantly into digital assets. Financial conglomerate acquired DMM Bitcoin customer accounts in 2025 and integrated BITPoint Japan into its local currency operations.

With regulatory discussions underway to bring crypto assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, SBI's move is seen as laying the groundwork for stronger regulation. The addition of Bitbank will combine several major exchanges to form Japan's largest crypto asset platform group.

The company plans to acquire a majority stake in Singapore-based crypto exchange Coinhako with additional capital investment by SBI Ventures Asset. The deal aims to expand SBI's influence in Asia's digital asset markets and strengthen its position as a global crypto infrastructure provider.