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SBI buys Coinhako
SBI Holdings has finalized its acquisition of Coinhako, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange and services provider, after receiving necessary approvals from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
“SBI Holdings has wrapped up its acquisition of Coinhako”
Crowdfund Insider says the deal secures a controlling interest for SBI and that SBI’s wholly owned subsidiary, SBI Ventures Asset Pte. Ltd., facilitated the move through a combination of fresh capital injection and share purchases from existing stakeholders in Holdbuild Pte. Ltd., Coinhako’s parent entity.
The transaction closed on July 16, making Coinhako a consolidated subsidiary within the SBI family, according to Bitcoin Magazine.
Bitcoin Magazine adds that Coinhako operates through Hako Technology Pte. Ltd., which holds a Major Payment Institution license from MAS, and Alpha Hako Ltd., a crypto asset service provider registered with the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission.
A corridor for digital assets
SBI’s stated goal is to build a global corridor for digital assets by connecting exchanges worldwide, with Chairman and President Yoshitaka Kitao describing the plan as “The SBI Group seeks to establish a global corridor for digital assets by connecting exchanges worldwide.”
CoinDesk frames SBI’s broader strategy as building Asia’s “first cross-border digital asset empire,” tying the Coinhako consolidation to tokenization work with Ondo Finance and a partnership with the Solana Foundation.
Bitcoin Magazine says SBI intends to expand a digital asset corridor that starts with Japan and Southeast Asia and to develop services tied to its JPYSC yen-denominated stablecoin.
CryptoRank similarly links the Coinhako acquisition to SBI’s plans for tokenization, stablecoins, cross-border crypto payments, and regional adoption of exchange and DeFi infrastructure, while noting that financial terms were undisclosed.
Limits and next steps
One limit highlighted across the coverage is that JPYSC does not yet support withdrawals to external wallets, which confines its use to SBI’s own platform, with CoinDesk stating: “it does not yet support withdrawals to external wallets or remittances and settlements via public blockchains.”
“it does not yet support withdrawals to external wallets or remittances and settlements via public blockchains”
Bitcoin Magazine reports that JPYSC does not yet support withdrawals to external wallets, “which confines its use to SBI’s own platform,” even as SBI flags opportunities in tokenization, on-chain finance, and cross-border trading.
CoinDesk also quotes a spokesperson describing the current restriction on JPYSC use, saying it is “currently limited to accounts within SBI VC Trade.”
Meanwhile, CryptoRank says SBI gained access to Coinhako’s 400,000+ customer base and Coinhako’s MPI license, positioning the acquisition as a step toward accelerating SBI’s stablecoin and cross-border digital finance plans.