SBI Holdings has signed a basic agreement and share transfer agreement to fully acquire Japanese crypto exchange Bitbank for 46.7 billion yen ($288.6 million), paving the way for the financial conglomerate to become the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange operator by customer assets.
The transaction will be executed through SBI’s wholly owned subsidiary SBICAH LLC, resulting in Bitbank becoming an indirectly held, wholly owned subsidiary with 100% voting rights. The deal is expected to close in October, subject to merger clearance from the Japan Fair Trade Commission and other customary closing conditions.
According to SBI, the combined figures of SBI VC Trade and Bitbank as of April 2026 would place total crypto customer assets at around 1.1 trillion yen ($6.8 billion) and the number of accounts at approximately 2.92 million. “This would position us first among domestic cryptocurrency exchange operators in terms of assets under management and among the top in account numbers,” the company stated.
Bitbank, founded in 2014, has a strong track record with no reported hacking incidents and serves as a major spot trading and lending platform. The exchange confirmed that existing services will continue unchanged during the integration process, ensuring no disruption for users.
The move follows SBI’s earlier consolidation of Bitpoint Japan into SBI VC Trade in April 2026 and marks another step in its broader crypto strategy that includes crypto-linked credit cards, stablecoins, and rewards programs. Earlier on Thursday, Ripple and SBI launched the RLUSD stablecoin in Japan after regulatory approval, further extending the group’s digital asset portfolio.
Japan’s crypto market is undergoing a regulatory reset, with authorities reviewing how digital assets fit into financial markets and investor products. The consolidation of exchanges under large, well-regulated institutions like SBI may accelerate as stricter rules raise operating costs for standalone platforms.
