SBI Holdings announced it will acquire Bitbank, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, for about $289 million. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in October, according to a statement released on Thursday.

The Tokyo‑based financial services group first proposed the purchase in early June and said it intends to broaden its crypto operations ahead of anticipated regulatory changes under Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, which could take effect at the start of the next fiscal year.

Bitbank processes just under $50 million in 24‑hour trading volume and ranks among the country’s ten largest exchanges by volume, CoinGecko data show. Larger peers such as Toobit, CoinW, Kraken and Bitmart exceed $1 billion in daily volume.

The acquisition follows SBI’s earlier purchase of crypto exchange Bitpoint in 2022. Regulators have not yet indicated a timeline for approval. The deal’s completion could influence the structure of Japan’s crypto market as the nation moves to treat digital assets as regulated financial products.