The Machine Keeps Humming: SBI Holdings with Back-to-Back Crypto and Tokenization Deals
After an already busy week of announcements, SBI Holdings has further added to its next-generation digital asset footprint, announcing a major cross-border acquisition in Singapore alongside a global tokenization partnership with U.S.-based Ondo Finance.
The dual announcements underscore SBI’s aggressive pursuit of building a "global corridor" for digital assets, bridging traditional capital markets with blockchain-based infrastructure.
SBI Assumes Control of Coinhako to Anchor Southeast Asian Strategy
SBI revealed it has acquired a majority stake in Holdbuild (commonly known as Coinhako), converting the prominent Singaporean crypto asset platform into a consolidated subsidiary. The transaction, executed through SBI’s subsidiary SBI Ventures Asset, closed on July 16 after securing mandatory regulatory approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Coinhako represents a pivotal regulatory foothold for SBI in the APAC region. The group operates Hako Technology, which holds a Major Payment Institution license from MAS, and Alpha Hako, a registered crypto asset service provider in the British Virgin Islands.
SBI Chairman and CEO Yoshitaka Kitao emphasized the geographic importance of the transaction, stating:
"Singapore is a critical region where digital asset regulations are ahead of the curve. We are thrilled to welcome Coinhako, with its rock-solid customer base and operational know-how, into the SBI Group."
Coinhako co-founder and CEO Yusho Liu noted that the backing of SBI's vast ecosystem will accelerate the platform's mission to deliver compliant, next-generation digital financial services across Southeast Asia. The acquisition coincides with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Singapore, a milestone SBI plans to mark by hosting its first overseas branch manager meeting in Singapore this summer.
Strategic Alliance Formed with Ondo Finance to Tokenize Japanese Assets
The Coinhako acquisition closely follows SBI’s announcement of a strategic partnership with New York-based Ondo Finance, a leading platform for asset tokenization.
The alliance aims to bridge Japanese capital markets with the global on-chain economy. Under the agreement, the two firms plan to tokenize Japanese equities and other domestic real-world assets (RWAs) to make them available on Ondo’s on-chain platform. Concurrently, SBI will look to distribute Ondo’s existing tokenized products—such as Ondo Stocks, an on-chain platform backed by U.S.-listed equities and ETFs—throughout its domestic ecosystem.
Ondo Finance CEO Ian De Bode called the partnership an important pathway to connect Japan with the global tokenized economy, describing Japan as "one of the most sophisticated capital markets in the world."
The Linchpin: "JPYSC" Stablecoin Integration
Central to both initiatives is SBI’s proprietary trust-type, yen-denominated stablecoin, JPYSC, which was launched in collaboration with Startale.
- With Ondo: The companies are exploring the utilization of JPYSC for on-chain settlement and collateral management within tokenized asset transactions.
- With Coinhako: SBI intends to leverage Coinhako's regional network to integrate JPYSC and other digital financial services, lowering cross-border friction between Japan and Southeast Asia.
Outlook and Timeline
While the financial terms of the Coinhako acquisition and the Ondo partnership were not disclosed, SBI stated that specific product rollouts, target demographics, and geographic rollouts for the Ondo alliance will be finalized in due course, pending compliance with domestic and international regulatory frameworks.
Norbert Gehrke
