SBI expands crypto with $289M Bitbank deal

• SBI Holdings has agreed to acquire Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Bitbank for US$289 million, expanding its regulated digital asset business.
• The deal would increase SBI's combined platform to about ¥1.1 trillion in assets under custody across 2.9 million customer accounts.
• Architect Partners said the acquisition reflects growing consolidation as stricter regulation raises compliance costs for Japan's crypto exchanges.

SBI Holdings has agreed to acquire Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Bitbank for US$289 million, with Architect Partners saying the transaction strengthens SBI's position in Japan's increasingly regulated digital asset market.

The acquisition would expand SBI's combined cryptocurrency platform to approximately ¥1.1 trillion in assets under custody across 2.9 million customer accounts after adding Bitbank's ¥570 billion in assets and 960,000 accounts.

“We expect consolidation to continue,” said Architect Partners co-founder and partner Steve Payne.

Architect Partners said the acquisition gives SBI a Financial Services Agency-licensed exchange, institutional custody capabilities and one of Japan's largest altcoin liquidity pools, making it faster and less costly than building those businesses internally.

The investment bank also said Japan's regulatory reforms and higher compliance costs are likely to accelerate consolidation, with about 90% of licensed exchanges already unprofitable and as many as half of the country's 27 registered exchanges potentially leaving the market.

The report noted that SBI agreed to pay roughly eight times Bitbank's revenue despite the exchange reporting an operating loss in fiscal 2025, suggesting the purchase values regulated market access over near-term earnings.

Alongside the acquisition, SBI announced plans to distribute Ripple USD (CRYPTO:RLUSD) in Japan and expand its stablecoin, payments and digital asset services, reinforcing its strategy to build an integrated cryptocurrency platform.