Ripple Backer SBI Opens Bitbank Talks, Eyes Japan’s Largest Crypto Exchange
SBI Holdings has opened formal capital and enterprise alliance talks with Bitbank Inc. The Japanese monetary group desires to make the nation’s third-largest crypto change a consolidated subsidiary.
The disclosure got here on May 1, 2026, weeks after SBI merged SBI VC Trade with Bitpoint Japan. That earlier deal expanded its crypto footprint inside Japan.
Path to Japan’s Top Crypto Exchange Operator
If accomplished, the brand new deal would raise the SBI group above bitFlyer and Coincheck by mixed buying and selling quantity. That end result would make SBI the biggest change operator in Japan’s regulated market.
Sota Watanabe, chief government of Startale Group, framed the transfer as a turning level for the sector.
SBI plans to purchase bitbank, the third largest crypto change in Japan. Once the acquisition is profitable, SBI goes to be the biggest crypto change in Japan,” he said.
Why SBI Is Buying Now
Japan’s crypto sector has been consolidating as stricter rules raise capital and compliance demands. SBI booked file crypto earnings of ¥89.6 billion ($560.89 million) within the fiscal yr ended March 2026.
Recent product launches embody the JPYSC yen-backed stablecoin, crypto-collateral lending, and a Visa partnership.
The bid extends chief government Yoshitaka Kitao’s plan to fuse conventional finance with blockchain. SBI holds a few 9% fairness stake in Ripple. Its SBI Ripple Asia three way partnership pushes XRP adoption throughout the area.
Compliance scrutiny stays a part of the image. SBI Securities, the group’s brokerage arm, was sanctioned in early 2024 over IPO share-price practices. The matter drew a brief client-solicitation halt from Japanese regulators.
Bitbank was based in 2014 and licensed by Japan’s Financial Services Agency in 2017. It has not reported a hacking incident since launch.
Mixi acquired about 26.2% of the operator in 2021 by means of a roughly ¥7 billion ($46.2 million) alliance. The agency later partnered with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust on digital asset custody.
SBI has not disclosed valuation, fairness ratio, or completion timing for the bitbank stake.
Any settlement would require due diligence and regulatory clearance. The agency beforehand acquired TaoTao earlier than relisting XRP, hinting at a well-recognized playbook for absorbing Japanese exchanges.
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