TL;DR:
- SBI Holdings received regulatory approval from Singapore’s MAS to acquire a majority stake in Coinhako.
- The acquisition makes Coinhako an SBI subsidiary, which plans to integrate it with its JPYSC stablecoin initiative.
- The Japanese group also led a $76 million round for EDX Markets and is preparing to acquire Bitbank for $289 million.
SBI Holdings acquired a majority stake in Holdbuild, the parent company of Singapore-based crypto platform Coinhako, after receiving regulatory approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The transaction will allow the Japanese group to incorporate Coinhako as a consolidated subsidiary through a capital injection for shareholders, as the company announced.
Coinhako operates under a Major Payment Institution license issued by the MAS through its subsidiary Hako Technology Pte. Ltd. SBI had announced its intention to acquire a majority stake in the exchange in February of this year. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
SBI’s Operations in Southeast Asia
The group described Singapore as a strategic hub within its expansion strategy in the digital asset market and noted that the transaction will strengthen its presence in Southeast Asia. In this context, SBI plans to hold its first overseas branch directors’ meeting in Singapore during the summer, with the goal of establishing its local business base.
The company plans to combine Coinhako’s client base and regional network with its own financial services and digital asset businesses, including its stablecoin initiative JPYSC. This week, it also announced a partnership with Ondo Finance to tokenize Japanese equities and integrate JPYSC as a settlement and collateral instrument.
A Constant Expansion Strategy
The acquisition of Coinhako is part of the expansion strategy SBI has been executing at a rapid pace. In early July, the group led a $76 million Series C round for institutional exchange EDX Markets. It also announced plans to acquire Bitbank for $289 million, a transaction through which it seeks to create one of Japan’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
In February, SBI and Startale Group launched Strium, a layer-1 blockchain focused on tokenized securities and real-world assets, designed to support tokenized equity settlement and institutional financial applications across local and international markets.
