More SBI Holdings Moves in Japan's Cryptocurrency Market
Over the past week, there were two additional announcements regarding SBI Group's strategic expansion within the Japanese cryptocurrency market. These key developments include a new partnership between SBI VC Trade and Convano for large-scale Bitcoin operations and SBI Securities' launch of crypto CFDs, underpinned by B2C2 as a liquidity provider. With crypto ETFs most likely to launch only in January 2027, the crypto CFDs provide the first product to gain direct crypto exposure in the domestic securities market.
SBI Group is leveraging its various subsidiaries (SBI VC Trade, SBI Securities, and B2C2) to offer a full spectrum of crypto services, from direct asset management and trading to derivative products and institutional liquidity.
The overarching goal is to maintain a "customer-centric" approach ("顧客中心主義") while providing innovative and secure digital asset solutions. SBI VC Trade emphasizes "暗号資産も SBI" (Crypto is also SBI), reflecting this integrated strategy.
SBI VC Trade x Convano Partnership
SBI VC Trade has partnered with Convano, a TSE Growth Market-listed company, to support its "Convano 21,000 Bitcoin Financial Reinforcement Plan." Convano aims to strategically hold 21,000 BTC by the end of March 2027.
This "SBIVC for Prime" service for large-scale customers ("大口のお客さま向けに特別サービス") will facilitate Bitcoin trading, custody, and management for Convano.
SBI VC Trade highlights three main advantages for corporate clients:
- Security and Compliance: Being a 100% subsidiary of SBI Holdings, a TSE Prime-listed company, operating under domestic laws and regulations.
- Flexible Purchase Options for Large Transactions: Leveraging B2C2's global market-making capabilities, SBI VC Trade offers "特別スプレッドでの OTC 取引" (OTC trading with special spreads) and "SBI 暗号資産オプション" (SBI Crypto Asset Options) for targeted price execution.
- Exemption from Mark-to-Market Taxation: A service enabling corporate clients to be exempt from corporate tax on unrealized gains from crypto assets held for over a year under specific conditions (e.g., transfer restrictions). This service also allows staking rewards with discounted fees.
Expansion of Crypto Product Offerings (CFDs)
On August 25, SBI Securities, "Japan’s largest retail-led platform in traditional asset classes," launched its first-ever crypto product: Contracts for Difference (CFDs) on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP.
B2C2, a global leader in institutional liquidity for digital assets and majority-owned by SBI Group, is serving as the primary liquidity provider for these CFDs.
David Rogers, B2C2 CEO APAC, states, "CFDs are an innovative product enabling investors to access leveraged trading of cryptocurrencies without assuming custody of the asset itself." This offers "a previously untapped segment of traditional asset investors" easy exposure to crypto products from their existing accounts.
B2C2 is a "global leader in institutional liquidity for digital assets," trusted by "blue chip hedge funds, institutional managers, brokers, crypto exchanges, and crypto foundations." Its partnership with SBI Securities "further enhances B2C2’s global leadership in digital asset liquidity and presence in the APAC region." B2C2 already acts as a liquidity provider to SBI VC Trade, supporting a "tenfold increase in daily trading volumes on the platform since September 2020."
Norbert Gehrke
