SBI Holdings agreed on 25 June to make Tokyo-based crypto exchange Bitbank a wholly owned subsidiary in a series of transactions costing ¥46.7bn.
Why SBI Holdings is buying Bitbank
SBI said the two businesses would share customer bases, product development, security and compliance systems, and expand services built on stablecoins. On a simple aggregation of April 2026 figures, the group would rank first among Japanese exchanges by assets under custody, with about ¥1.1tn and roughly 2.92 million accounts.
Deal terms and financing
SBI's subsidiary SBICAH agreed to buy 53,704 Bitbank shares in cash from founder and chief executive Noriyuki Hirosue and other individual shareholders, then subscribe for 48,952 new shares. Bitbank would use those funds to buy back all the shares held by MIXI and CERES, leaving SBI with 100% of the voting rights.
Regulatory approvals and timing
The deal required clearance from the Japan Fair Trade Commission. SBI announced on 1 October 2026 that Bitbank had bought back the MIXI and CERES stakes, completing the transaction.
Market context
Founded in 2014, Bitbank says it has never suffered a hacking incident. It reported net sales of ¥5.8bn and a small net loss for 2025. The deal came as SBI expanded into yen stablecoins and other digital-asset services.
