SBI Holdings has taken control of Singapore-based crypto exchange Coinhako, after receiving approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and closing the deal on July 16. The acquisition, carried out via SBI Ventures Asset Pte. Ltd. and supplemented by purchases of shares from Coinhako’s existing investors, makes Coinhako a consolidated subsidiary of the Japanese financial group. SBI did not disclose the investment size, stake percentage or Coinhako’s valuation.
Founded in 2014 and operated by Hako Technology Pte. Ltd., Coinhako holds a Major Payment Institution licence from MAS. Its affiliate, Alpha Hako Ltd., is registered as a virtual asset service provider with the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission — credentials SBI cited as central to the move.
SBI says the acquisition will fuse Coinhako’s regional customer base, local operations and Southeast Asian network with SBI’s broad financial product stack and international reach. Singapore’s established digital-asset framework and its role as a gateway into Southeast Asia made the city-state a strategic target for the Japanese group.
SBI Chairman and President Yoshitaka Kitao framed the purchase as part of a larger strategy to “connect exchanges across multiple countries,” creating a network that lets investors trade without being constrained by national borders or currency differences. SBI expects the Singapore unit to help roll out services including stablecoins, tokenized assets, cross‑border trading and on‑chain finance between Japan and Southeast Asia.
Coinhako’s co-founder and CEO Yusho Liu described the deal as the next growth phase after a decade in Singapore, saying that joining the SBI Group is a “natural step” to scale the exchange’s offerings and regional reach.
The acquisition comes alongside other moves in SBI’s crypto playbook. The group is developing a yen‑backed stablecoin, JPYSC, with blockchain firm Startale and plans to explore integrating it across the combined SBI–Coinhako network. Separately, SBI partnered with Ondo Finance to bring tokenized financial products into its ecosystem; the partners intend to use JPYSC for settlement and collateral while linking Japanese securities to overseas tokenized markets. Ondo’s tokenized products are expected to be distributed through SBI’s customer channels.
One day before the Coinhako acquisition closed, SBI Global Asset Management launched the SBI Japan High Dividend Equity Strategy Token (JX token) with regulated real-world-asset exchange DigiFT. Issued on Solana, the product gives accredited and institutional investors blockchain-based exposure to a Japanese high-dividend equity strategy managed by SBI Asset Management Co.
Taken together, these moves show SBI assembling a regulated pipeline of exchanges, tokenized investment products and stablecoin infrastructure across Asia. Coinhako brings a licensed Singapore distribution point into that network, while partnerships with Ondo and DigiFT provide on‑ramps for tokenized securities and institutional product distribution — building blocks for SBI’s cross-border, multi-asset crypto ambitions.
Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news
