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SBI Completes Bitbank Takeover, Creating Japan’s Largest Crypto Exchange by Custody
Full ownership adds Bitbank’s regulated platform and Ripple-linked activity to SBI’s crypto business
TL;DR
- SBI Holdings completed its takeover of Bitbank, making the Japanese crypto exchange a wholly owned subsidiary.
- Combined operations are expected to rank first among Japanese exchange operators by custodied assets.
- The deal also deepens board ties between Bitbank and SBI VC Trade as SBI expands its RLUSD and stablecoin operations.
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SBI Holdings completed its acquisition of Japanese crypto exchange Bitbank on October 1, making it a wholly owned subsidiary after Bitbank bought back shares held by MIXI and Ceres. The transaction was valued at about ¥46.7 billion, rendered in the two reports as approximately $289 million and $290 million. The final ownership change brings Bitbank into SBI’s crypto business while leaving Noriyuki Hirosue as Bitbank’s CEO.
How SBI Completed the Bitbank Acquisition
SBI first agreed to acquire Bitbank in June. SBI’s June 25 notice outlined a three-stage transaction involving SBICAH GK, a wholly owned SBI unit, existing Bitbank shareholders and a new share allotment.
The transaction required clearance from the Japan Fair Trade Commission. Bitbank has said the ownership change will not affect existing accounts, trading or services.
Board roles also shifted. Tomohiko Kondo, president of SBI VC Trade, joined Bitbank’s board, while Hirosue became an outside director at SBI VC Trade. Bitbank outside directors Satoshi Takagi, Nobuhiro Kanayama and Masaya Kubota stepped down. SBI had previously folded Bitpoint Japan into SBI VC Trade in April. Bitbank also “has maintained zero hacking incidents” since its founding.
Bitbank Adds Custody Scale, XRP Trading and Stablecoin Links
Bitbank brings a Financial Services Agency license, a spot exchange offering dozens of crypto assets against the yen, and coin-lending and custody services. It serves roughly 960,000 registered users and has deep yen-quoted altcoin liquidity.
Using April 30 figures for SBI VC Trade and Bitbank, the combined businesses held about $6.97 billion, or ¥1.1 trillion, in assets under custody across roughly 2.92 million crypto accounts. Another report rendered the same yen custody figure as roughly $7 billion. Both placed the combined platform first among Japanese exchange operators by custodied assets.
Bitbank is also one of Japan’s busiest XRP venues. At press time, 5.82 million XRP had traded in its XRP/JPY market over the previous 24 hours, with XRP turnover approaching bitcoin’s daily volume on the exchange.
SBI has worked with Ripple for about a decade. The companies signed a memorandum of understanding in August 2025 to bring Ripple USD, or RLUSD, to Japan. RLUSD went live through SBI VC Trade on June 24 after Japan Financial Services Agency approval, and its global supply has since passed $2.4 billion.
SBI has said the combined business would develop “new financial services utilizing stablecoins.” JPYSC, a yen stablecoin, is under development through SBI Shinsei Trust Bank, while SBI also completed a Korea-Japan cross-border stablecoin test last month.
SBI Extends Its Crypto Consolidation Strategy
SBI VC Trade absorbed TaoTao in 2020 and later took on DMM Bitcoin accounts following a 2024 hack. SBI also took a majority stake in Singapore’s Coinhako in July. Analysts at Architect Partners identified bitFlyer, described as the last large independent Japanese exchange, as an obvious potential next target.
Japan is meanwhile moving crypto assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, alongside legislation that would reduce taxation on crypto gains to a flat 20%. The regulatory changes increase compliance costs for smaller standalone exchanges, encouraging financial groups to consolidate scale.
SBI’s expansion has also extended outside Japan. The group led a $76 million funding round for EDX Markets in July and has become Ripple’s domestic distribution platform for RLUSD. SBI said the Bitbank transaction would have a minor impact on results for the year ending March 2027.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
