Japanese financial services group SBI Holdings has acquired a majority stake in Singapore-based crypto exchange Coinhako, turning the company into a consolidated subsidiary after receiving approval from the market regulator Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
The transaction, completed on July 16 through SBI Ventures Asset, involves both a capital injection into Holdbuild, Coinhako’s parent company, and a share purchase from existing shareholders.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
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The deal gives SBI a regulated foothold in one of Asia’s most closely watched digital asset markets at a time when crypto exchanges, stablecoin issuers, and tokenisation platforms are moving from retail-led speculation towards institution-facing infrastructure. On the other hand, Coinhako gets a deep-pocketed parent with a large financial services network in Japan, a market where SBI has been one of the most aggressive incumbents in crypto, blockchain, and digital securities.
Founded in 2014 by Yusho Liu and Gerry Eng, Coinhako operates mainly through Hako Technology, which holds a Major Payment Institution licence from MAS, and Alpha Hako, a crypto asset service provider registered with the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission.
Coinhako is among the island nation’s earlier consumer-facing digital asset platforms and has survived multiple industry cycles, including the post-FTX regulatory tightening that pushed many exchanges out of the market.
A Singapore bet, not just a Coinhako deal
For SBI, the acquisition is less about buying a standalone exchange and more about securing a regulated bridge into Southeast Asia.
The Japanese group said Singapore is a key hub in its digital asset strategy, particularly as it works to build what it describes as a digital asset economic zone focused on Asia-Pacific. SBI has also been working with Startale on on-chain financial infrastructure, including JPYSC, billed by the company as Japan’s first trust-type yen-denominated stablecoin.
SBI Chairman, President and CEO Yoshitaka Kitao said the group aims to create a “global corridor for digital assets” by connecting exchanges across markets. Singapore, he added, plays a central role because of its regulatory position.
That framing makes sense. Singapore has spent the past few years trying to separate regulated digital asset activity from the excesses of the last crypto bull run. MAS has tightened retail access, introduced stronger requirements around custody and customer asset segregation, and pushed licensed players towards compliance-heavy operations. At the same time, it has encouraged institutional experimentation in tokenisation, stablecoins and cross-border settlement through projects such as Project Guardian.
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This has created a market where the cost of compliance is high, but the regulatory signal is clearer than in much of the region. For a Japanese financial group looking to expand digital asset rails outside its home market, acquiring a licensed Singapore operator is faster than building from scratch.
Coinhako gets scale after a brutal market cycle
For Coinhako, SBI’s backing comes after a period in which many regional crypto firms have struggled to maintain momentum.
Southeast Asia was one of the most active crypto retail markets during the last bull cycle, driven by young populations, high mobile penetration and underdeveloped investment infrastructure in several countries. But the sector has since split sharply. Regulated platforms in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines have continued to operate under tighter rules, while weaker or offshore-led players have faded, frozen withdrawals or been forced into restructuring.
Coinhako now competes in Singapore against global and regional names including Coinbase, Crypto.com, Independent Reserve, Gemini, and OKX — all of which have pursued regulatory approval in the city-state to varying degrees. In the wider region, competition includes Indonesia’s Indodax and Tokocrypto, the latter backed by Binance; Coins.ph and PDAX in the Philippines; and Bitkub in Thailand. Several of these players have stronger domestic retail recognition in their home markets but lack the same Singapore regulatory positioning.
The exchange’s challenge has been familiar: surviving long enough to become relevant to the next phase of the market. Retail trading fees alone are no longer a compelling growth story. The bigger opportunity now sits around compliant custody, tokenised real-world assets, stablecoin settlement, cross-border payment corridors and institutional digital asset access.
“Joining SBI Group is the natural next chapter for Coinhako,” said Liu, Coinhako’s co-founder and CEO. He said the platform had spent the past decade building in “one of the world’s most progressive regulatory environments” and would use SBI’s scale to deliver new digital financial services across the region.
Stablecoins and tokenisation are the real prize
The most important clue in the announcement is not the acquisition itself, but SBI’s repeated reference to JPYSC and cross-border digital finance.
Stablecoins have moved from a crypto trading utility to one of the most closely watched pieces of payments infrastructure in Asia. Dollar-linked stablecoins dominate global usage, but regulators and banks across the region are exploring domestic currency-backed tokens for settlement, treasury management and tokenised asset transactions.
Singapore has already established a regulatory framework for single-currency stablecoins, initially covering tokens pegged to the Singapore dollar or G10 currencies issued in Singapore. Japan, meanwhile, has taken a more bank-and-trust-led route, creating a path for regulated yen-denominated stablecoins. SBI’s attempt to connect these developments through Singapore could position Coinhako as more than a retail exchange.
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The same logic applies to tokenisation. Financial institutions in Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong have been testing tokenised bonds, funds, deposits and foreign exchange settlement. The problem is no longer whether assets can be tokenised; it is whether distribution, compliance, liquidity and settlement can be stitched together across jurisdictions.
A licensed Singapore platform with an existing customer base and operational experience may give SBI a local testbed for these services. It could also help the group connect Japanese digital finance infrastructure with Southeast Asian users and institutions, though that ambition will depend heavily on regulatory approvals in each market.
Japan-Singapore ties add political timing
The announcement also lands during the 60th anniversary year of diplomatic relations between Japan and Singapore. SBI said it plans to hold its first overseas branch managers’ meeting in Singapore this summer, signalling that the city-state is becoming more than a regional office for the group.
The broader backdrop is a growing convergence between Japanese capital and Southeast Asian fintech infrastructure. Japanese banks, trading houses, and financial groups have been active investors in regional payments, digital lending and wealth platforms. SBI’s Coinhako move extends that pattern into regulated digital assets.
Still, execution will be difficult. Crypto regulation in Southeast Asia remains fragmented. Singapore is strict but clear; Indonesia has shifted oversight from commodities regulators towards financial authorities; Thailand has allowed licensed exchanges but imposed advertising and product restrictions; the Philippines remains active but cautious. A “corridor” strategy will require SBI and Coinhako to navigate each of these regimes rather than assume a single regional playbook.
The acquisition gives SBI a credible base in Singapore and gives Coinhako more institutional muscle. But the deal’s significance will be measured by what comes next: whether the pair can move beyond exchange trading into stablecoin settlement, tokenised assets and cross-border financial rails that regulators will actually permit. For now, SBI has bought itself a seat at Singapore’s digital asset table. The harder task is turning that seat into regional leverage.
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