SBI Holdings Signs $288.6 Million Deal to Acquire Japanese Crypto Exchange Bitbank

Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings has signed agreements to acquire crypto exchange Bitbank for 46.7 billion yen, equivalent to around $288.6 million. The deal would make Bitbank an indirectly held, wholly owned subsidiary of SBI through its SBICAH LLC unit, giving SBI 100% voting rights upon completion.

The transaction is expected to close around October 2026, pending merger clearance from the Japan Fair Trade Commission and other closing conditions.

What SBI Plans to Do With Bitbank

SBI says the acquisition is about combining strengths. The plan is to merge Bitbank’s customer base, security systems, compliance infrastructure and service development capabilities with SBI VC Trade — its existing crypto arm — to expand trading services and build new financial products tied to stablecoins and other digital assets.

When combining SBI VC Trade and Bitbank figures as of April 2026, the group would hold approximately 1.1 trillion yen ($6.8 billion) in crypto customer assets and around 2.92 million cryptocurrency accounts.

“This would place us in first place among domestic cryptocurrency exchange operators in terms of assets under management and among the top in terms of the number of accounts,” SBI said.

About Bitbank

Bitbank was founded in May 2014 and operates one of Japan’s major crypto exchanges. The company has recorded zero hacking incidents since launching a track record that likely made it an attractive target for SBI. The financial conglomerate first confirmed it was exploring an acquisition in May 2026.