SBI Holdings to Acquire bitbank as a Wholly Owned Subsidiary

Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings has signed a basic agreement to fully acquire bitbank, the operator of the crypto exchange bitbank. The deal, announced on June 25, 2026, involves SBICAH, a wholly owned SBI subsidiary, purchasing shares from bitbank’s existing shareholders, including CEO Noriyuki Hirosue, MIXI, and Ceres.

The acquisition is structured as a series of transactions culminating in bitbank becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of SBI Holdings. As part of the process, bitbank will also buy back shares held by MIXI and Ceres, which will cease to be equity-method affiliates of those companies.

Bitbank has operated the bitbank crypto exchange since its founding, maintaining a zero-hack record and building a reputation for security. The company cites Japan’s evolving regulatory environment—particularly the planned shift of crypto oversight from the Payment Services Act to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act—as a key reason for seeking deeper integration with a larger financial group.

The deal will give bitbank access to SBI’s broad financial services platform, customer base, and management resources. The company expects to use these assets to expand beyond spot crypto trading into stablecoins, tokenized assets, and other digital-asset services, as well as to invest in onchain finance innovations.

Timeline

• Basic agreement and share transfer agreement signed: June 25, 2026
• Share transfer execution: Approx. August 2026
• Share buyback by bitbank: Approx. October 2026
• Transaction completion: Approx. October 2026

Bitbank emphasized that its exchange services will continue as usual throughout the process. The company said it will focus on strengthening governance, compliance, and risk management to meet tighter regulatory expectations, while pursuing growth as part of the SBI group.