coindesk.com
SBI Holdings, a major Japanese financial firm, plans to acquire a $270 million stake in Ajaib Group, a major Indonesian online brokerage, before the end of this month.
The deal is part of SBI's push to expand JPYSC, its yen-denominated stablecoin, across Southeast Asia and build cross-border settlement infrastructure using blockchain technology.
Ajaib gives SBI a foothold in Indonesia, a consumer-retail market worth an estimated $375 billion, according to IMARC Group, and one of ASEAN’s largest retail-investing markets, with more than 20 million retail investors, according to The Straits Times. Ajaib operates online brokerage services, foreign-exchange margin trading, cryptocurrencies and asset management in Indonesia.
“In this era of tokenization, the importance of global infrastructure for digital assets is greater than ever,” stated Yoshitaka Kitao, chairman and president of SBI.
The investment follows SBI's acquisition of Coinhako Group, a Singapore-based crypto exchange, for roughly $100 million in July, and a separate investment in DigiFT, a Singaporean digital securities trading platform, where the two established a joint venture.
SBI is building a regional network of regulated crypto and digital securities infrastructure across Southeast Asia that could eventually support cross-border stablecoin payments and tokenized-asset trading, the firm said in its statement.
Indonesia is a significant target, it added. The country's startup sector has struggled, with Indonesian startups raising just $340 million last year, down from $440 million in 2024 and far below the $9.44 billion raised in 2021, according to a Bloomberg report. Ajaib's $270 million round is the country's largest tech fundraising in years.
Japan's broader push into digital assets is also key to SBI’s crypto expansion. The government recently announced plans to build blockchain infrastructure for stocks and government bonds, with 24/7 onchain settlement and operations potentially kicking off in the early 2030s.