SBI Holdings has opened acquisition talks with Bitbank, one of Japan's largest crypto exchanges, in a move that could further expand the financial group's digital-asset footprint at home.

According to SBI's May 1 release, the company submitted a letter of intent to Bitbank regarding a share acquisition and has begun discussions toward a capital and business alliance. SBI said the process is still at the review stage, with due diligence and further negotiations to follow before any transaction is finalized.

That makes this a concrete M&A process rather than another broad partnership memo. Bitbank is a meaningful piece of Japan's regulated exchange market, so even opening talks is notable for the country's crypto infrastructure landscape.

The Bitbank move also fits a wider regional push. In February, SBI announced plans to acquire a majority stake in Singapore-based Coinhako, framing that deal as part of an effort to build a larger Asian digital-asset platform spanning retail and institutional use cases. Together, the two moves suggest SBI is still assembling a broader crypto platform footprint across Asia.

The cautious read is that nothing has closed yet. But SBI has now publicly confirmed that it wants deeper exposure to exchange infrastructure, and Bitbank is the latest target in that strategy.