According to CoinMeta, SBI completed the acquisition of the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Bitbank on October 1st, with a transaction amount of approximately 4.67 billion yen (about 295 million US dollars). This transaction involved multiple steps, including share transfers and capital increases. Bitbank stated that the change in ownership would not affect existing customer services. Noriyuki Hirosue will continue to serve as the President and CEO of Bitbank, while SBI VC Trade, the President, has joined the board of directors of Bitbank. Noriyuki Hirosue's control also continues to expand into the digital finance sector; in July, it formed a strategic partnership with Solana Foundation and SBI R3 Japan to develop yen-based stablecoins and on-chain financial services.