SBI Holdings to acquire Japanese crypto exchange bitbank for $294M

Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings is set to acquire local cryptocurrency exchange bitbank for 46.7 billion yen (around $294 million), Nikkei reported. The acquisition will proceed in stages, with SBI purchasing shares from individual shareholders, including the founder, this August. By the end of October, bitbank is scheduled to acquire the stakes currently held by its corporate shareholders, Mixi and Ceres. The move follows an announcement from SBI in May that it was considering making bitbank a subsidiary.