Japan’s SBI Takes Control of Coinhako to Build Singapore Base for Asia Crypto Push
The Japanese financial group gains an MAS-licensed platform as it looks to expand its exchange, stablecoin and digital-asset businesses in Southeast Asia.
SBI Holdings
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SBI Holdings has spent years building a digital-asset business around Japan. Its takeover of Singapore cryptocurrency platform Coinhako gives that strategy a regional base.
The Tokyo-listed financial group completed its acquisition of a majority stake in Coinhako on July 16 after receiving approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The deal makes Coinhako a consolidated SBI subsidiary, although the purchase price and SBI’s precise shareholding were not disclosed.
SBI acquired the stake through Singapore-based SBI Ventures Asset, combining an injection of new capital with the purchase of shares from existing investors. The companies announced the proposed transaction in February.
The appeal lies less in Coinhako’s trading platform than in the regulatory position behind it. Its principal Singapore subsidiary, Hako Technology, holds a Major Payment Institution licence covering digital payment-token and cross-border money-transfer services.
That gives SBI an operating platform in one of Asia’s main financial centres at a time when the group is trying to assemble more of the infrastructure needed to issue, trade and settle digital assets.
Until now, most of that buildout has been concentrated in Japan. SBI already operates domestic crypto exchange SBI VC Trade and agreed in June to acquire rival Bitbank for ¥46.7 Bn. The transaction would make Bitbank a wholly owned subsidiary if completed as planned around October.
SBI has also introduced JPYSC, a yen-denominated stablecoin developed with Startale Group. The token is initially available only within SBI VC Trade accounts, limiting its use outside the group’s domestic platform. Meanwhile, SBI is working through the legal and tax requirements for broader circulation.
Coinhako gives the Japanese behemoth a possible route to take that infrastructure into Southeast Asia. The group said it would explore connecting the platform with its stablecoin, tokenisation, on-chain finance and cross-border transaction businesses, subject to the regulatory requirements of individual markets.
That integration has not yet happened. SBI has not identified the first products it plans to offer through Coinhako or given a timetable for linking the Singapore platform with its Japanese exchange and stablecoin operations.
Coinhako brings an established local business to the plan. Founded in 2014, the company serves retail and institutional customers and says it has more than 400,000 registered users in Singapore. SBI did not disclose Coinhako’s revenue, valuation or trading volume as part of the acquisition.
The transaction, therefore, gives SBI regulatory access and distribution in Singapore, but not yet the cross-border digital-asset network it ultimately wants to build. The next test is whether it can turn a collection of exchanges, stablecoin projects and licences into products that work across different Asian markets.
SBI Holdings has spent years building a digital-asset business around Japan. Its takeover of Singapore cryptocurrency platform Coinhako gives that strategy a regional base.
The Tokyo-listed financial group completed its acquisition of a majority stake in Coinhako on July 16 after receiving approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The deal makes Coinhako a consolidated SBI subsidiary, although the purchase price and SBI’s precise shareholding were not disclosed.
SBI acquired the stake through Singapore-based SBI Ventures Asset, combining an injection of new capital with the purchase of shares from existing investors. The companies announced the proposed transaction in February.
