SBI Holdings completes $289M Bitbank acquisition, Japan's largest crypto exchange
In brief
- SBI Holdings acquired full control of Bitbank for 46.7 billion yen ($289 million)
- Combined entity ranks first in Japan by assets under custody and account numbers
- Abracadabra's MIM stablecoin fell 50% below $1 peg, triggering emergency rate increases
- Trump postponed housing bill signing that included CBDC ban, complicating crypto legislation
Japan's Largest Crypto Exchange Takes Shape
SBI's wholly owned subsidiary SBICAH will acquire shares from Bitbank CEO Noriyuki Hirosue and other shareholders. SBI expects the transaction to close around October, subject to regulatory clearance.
The combined business would have about 1.1 trillion yen in assets under custody and roughly 2.92 million crypto accounts. This scale would rank the merged entity first among Japanese crypto exchanges by assets under custody and among the largest by account numbers.
Bitbank's daily trading volume has hovered below $50 million for most of the last four months. Volume is dominated by the BTC/JPY pair (39.5%), followed by XRP/JPY and ETH/JPY (both at 19.7%).
Stablecoin Depeg Exposes DeFi Fragility
Abracadabra's Magic Internet Money (MIM) stablecoin fell 50% below its $1 peg, triggering emergency measures from the protocol. The project began gradually increasing interest rates across all Cauldrons to encourage debt repayment and stabilize the asset.
The incident underscores a hard truth: even overcollateralized DeFi stablecoins can be fragile in thin-liquidity environments and bear markets. When liquidity dries up, collateral quality becomes secondary to execution risk.
Trump Delays Housing Bill, Crypto Legislation in Limbo
US President Donald Trump postponed signing the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which included a ban on the Federal Reserve issuing a CBDC through the end of 2030. The measure carved out an exception for certain dollar-denominated stablecoins, allowing private, open, and permissionless digital currency models.
Trump said he would not sign the legislation until Congress passes the SAVE America Act, a Republican-backed voting bill requiring proof of US citizenship for voter registration. The housing package had broad bipartisan support and passed the Senate 85-5 before clearing the House.
Even supporters of the bill, including Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott and Senator Elizabeth Warren, appeared caught off guard by Trump's delay. The move raises questions about the future of other crypto-related legislation, including the CLARITY Act.
