SBI Holdings has brought Singapore cryptocurrency exchange Coinhako into its group ecosystem by making it a subsidiary, including large digital asset holdings that include 1.11 trillion Shiba Inu tokens.

Blockchain media outlet Decrypt reported on July 18 that the deal was conducted through SBI Holdings unit SBI Ventures Asset and the process was completed after final approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

With the acquisition completed, Coinhako became a consolidated subsidiary of SBI Holdings. SBI Holdings has secured regulated cryptocurrency infrastructure outside Japan and expanded its digital asset business scope into Southeast Asia. The company plans to use Coinhako as a base to expand blockchain-based financial services in Southeast Asia.

SBI Holdings is also pursuing a plan to connect Coinhako’s user base to the yen-pegged stablecoin JPYSC and tokenised real-world asset products. A key point of the acquisition is that it can use Singapore business foundations and key payment institution licences without building new infrastructure from scratch.

SBI Holdings Chairman Yoshitaka Kitao (기타오 요시타카) said the deal aligns with its goal of building a global digital asset corridor linking Japan and Southeast Asia. He set out a direction to connect the two regions through faster blockchain-based payments and cross-border financial services.

Market attention in the acquisition has focused on Coinhako’s cryptocurrency holdings. Arkham data shows Coinhako holds digital assets worth $160.87 million across several cryptocurrencies. Of that, Shiba Inu totals 1.11 trillion tokens, worth about $4.62 million at current prices. Shiba Inu is not Coinhako’s entire portfolio, but it was counted as one of its largest holdings.

By holdings value in dollars, Shiba Inu ranks sixth. Assets with larger weightings are Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB), Chainlink (LINK), Tether (USDT) and Pepe (PEPE). As a result, the more than 1 trillion Shiba Inu tokens will come under SBI Holdings’ wider corporate ecosystem along with Coinhako’s other assets.

Still, the deal cannot be interpreted as a direct investment by SBI Holdings in Shiba Inu. The tokens are not assets directly purchased by SBI Holdings but exchange assets that Coinhako has held in custody and on its books. SBI Holdings has effectively taken over ownership of an exchange that was holding multiple digital assets, not only Shiba Inu.

In this situation, attention is also on potential links with SBI Holdings’ existing crypto business. SBI VC Trade, SBI Holdings’ crypto trading unit, already supports Shiba Inu trading and has run user campaigns such as staking opportunities and token distribution events. The Coinhako acquisition is therefore seen as part of an expansion strategy that links a regulated Southeast Asia base and a user platform with existing digital asset products, beyond simply bringing an exchange into the group.