SBI acquires Bitbank for $289 million, surpasses $7 billion in crypto assets

SBI Holdings, a major Japanese financial conglomerate and a key partner of Ripple in Asia, has finalized the acquisition of Bitbank, one of Japan’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, for 46.7 billion yen, equivalent to approximately $289 million.

Acquisition strengthens SBI’s crypto portfolio

SBI Holdings is headquartered in Tokyo and operates across various financial services, including securities, banking, and insurance. This purchase ranks among the largest-ever crypto acquisitions in Japan and is set to position SBI as the country’s leading digital asset provider by total assets under management.

The transaction will take place in stages. Initially, an SBI subsidiary will acquire shares from Bitbank founder Noriyuki Hirosue and other individual stakeholders. Later, it will purchase the remaining equity held by major investors MIXI and Ceres within the year. Once completed, Bitbank will become a consolidated subsidiary of SBI Holdings, following negotiations that began in May.

With this acquisition, SBI’s digital asset operations will reach new heights. The group, combining Bitbank with its existing platform SBI VC Trade, will oversee around 2.92 million customer accounts and more than 1.1 trillion yen (over $7 billion) in digital assets—surpassing major competitors bitFlyer and Coincheck.

Deepening the Ripple partnership

SBI’s relationship with Ripple, a US-based blockchain firm best known for its $XRP cryptocurrency and payment protocols, remains central to its strategy. Since the launch of SBI Ripple Asia in 2016, these companies have promoted Ripple’s blockchain technology and $XRP-powered payment services across Japan and the broader Asia-Pacific region.

For years, SBI has played a key role in building one of Asia’s most expansive cross-border payment networks and has consistently advocated institutional use of $XRP. Its regulated exchange, SBI VC Trade, was one of the earliest Japanese platforms to list $XRP and recently became the first in the country to list Ripple’s $RLUSD stablecoin.

Bitbank, established in 2014, is known as a top crypto exchange in Japan with a focus on regulatory compliance and user security.

Mini dictionary: $RLUSD, short for Ripple Liquidity USD, is a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar and designed to facilitate low-cost, rapid cross-border payments using Ripple’s payment infrastructure.

SBI Chairman and CEO Yoshitaka Kitao, who previously served on Ripple’s board, has actively supported Ripple’s expansion and vision for blockchain-based remittance and settlement networks.

SBI’s longstanding commitment to $XRP and Ripple’s technology has helped establish Japan as a key global market for blockchain payments and institutional adoption.

Strategic outlook and recent moves

Although SBI Holdings has not shared immediate plans concerning Bitbank’s existing operations, acquiring the exchange lays the groundwork for a much larger regulated digital asset platform in Japan. This scale could accelerate the use of Ripple’s payment products, including $XRP and $RLUSD, among domestic and institutional clients.

In addition to the Bitbank purchase, SBI-backed ventures have rolled out significant initiatives in the sector. Notably, gumi—a digital entertainment and blockchain company in which SBI is a stakeholder—recently launched an $86 million initiative focused on $XRP and introduced an $18.3 million crypto investment fund to widen institutional blockchain access.

Market observers note that these strides reinforce Japan’s status as one of the most $XRP-friendly jurisdictions, as institutional acceptance increases and regulatory clarity continues to take shape.

Japan’s ongoing adoption of Ripple-powered infrastructure and digital assets reflects its ambitions to become a leading fintech hub, leveraging innovation while maintaining strong oversight.