BitBank2026-10-17 05:00:00BitBank unveils BitPay and BitSIM, says contract admin rights have been relinquishedBitBank said it has launched two products, the BitPay payment card and the BitSIM communications card, and is positioning them as dual entry points into a broader Web3 digital lifestyle ecosystem. According to the company, the setup combines digital identity, global payments, mobile communications and blockchain-based finance, with the stated goal of bringing digital assets into real consumption scenarios. BitBank Foundation also said it is advancing physical deployment of Bitcoin mining machines in the Asia-Pacific region. It described the asset layer as centered on BTC physical hash power, a treasury system and the BTCX ecosystem token, which it said will connect with DeFi staking, global communications and payment applications to form what it called an "asset-service-consumption" closed loop. On governance, the foundation disclosed that BitBank has completed the relinquishment of all related smart contract management permissions. It said the move is intended to reduce human intervention, increase the transparency of on-chain rules and support DAO-based community governance as the ecosystem develops over the long term.840
SBI Holdings2026-10-01 08:00:00SBI Holdings completes full acquisition of crypto exchange BitbankJapanese crypto asset exchange Bitbank said SBI Holdings has completed a full acquisition of the company, making Bitbank a wholly owned subsidiary of SBI Holdings. The transaction was carried out through procedures including Bitbank’s repurchase of its own shares from MIXI and Ceres. Following the completion of the deal, Tomohiko Kondo, president of SBI VC Trade Co., Ltd., will join Bitbank as a director. Bitbank’s current representative director and CEO, Noriyuki Hirose, is expected to become an outside director of SBI VC Trade. The update was reported by Odaily.800
Bitbank2026-09-30 08:33:01Bitbank to Transfer All JADAT Shares to Sumitomo Mitsui Trust BankJapanese crypto exchange Bitbank said it will transfer all shares of its subsidiary, Japan Digital Asset Trust Preparation Co., Ltd. (JADAT), to Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank. Once the transfer is completed, JADAT will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group. SBI Holdings, Bitbank’s parent company, posted the same announcement on its official website. The share transfer is expected to take place on Oct. 1, while the transaction price was not disclosed. JADAT is a trust company that plans to provide custody services for cryptocurrencies, security tokens, and NFTs. The development was reported by CoinPost.590
OFAC2026-09-20 17:28:49OFAC sanctions Tehran-based crypto exchange BitBank over alleged bitcoin transfers to IRGCThe U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, has sanctioned Tehran-based crypto exchange BitBank, saying the platform transferred hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoin to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC. OFAC said BitBank is controlled by Iranian financier Babak Zanjani, who had already been identified in January, and that he used the platform to carry out transfers between June and July. The designation was made under Executive Order 13902. The sanctions also extend to BitBank software developer Pishtaz Simorgh and three executives at its parent company, Dot One. OFAC separately said Hormuz Safe, a Tehran entity described as selling safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, routed proceeds through BitBank starting in June; that entity had already been sanctioned in July. U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent said the use of cryptocurrency to finance the Iranian regime does not fall outside OFAC’s jurisdiction. OFAC did not disclose the wallet addresses tied to the case.690
Policy Regula2026-09-18 13:47:58Japan links North Korean hackers to wallet thefts as U.S. sanctions Iran-based BitBankA batch of crypto and macro policy developments highlighted by WuBlockchain on Sept. 18 included a cybercrime report from Japan, fresh U.S. sanctions, a new lending product from Hyperliquid, a rate hike from the Bank of Japan, yuan strength against the dollar, and new comments on tokenized market infrastructure. Japan’s National Police Agency, working with the FBI and other agencies, said the North Korea-linked group WaterPlum infected more than 30,000 devices across over 100 countries and regions between December 2025 and July 2026. Authorities said the hackers stole more than 7,000 pieces of crypto wallet information, and wallets under the group’s control received at least about $10.71 million in crypto assets. The group allegedly posed as recruiters at crypto companies and tricked job seekers into running malicious code. In a separate development, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Iranian digital asset platform BitBank, its developer Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three related individuals. Treasury said BitBank was controlled by sanctioned financier Babak Zanjani and used to move bitcoin worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps between June and July 2026. Other updates included Hyperliquid’s launch of manual lending, the Bank of Japan’s 25-basis-point rate increase to 1.25%, onshore and offshore yuan both rising past 6.7 per dollar, and plans tied to a New York Stock Exchange ATS initiative for 24/7 on-chain trading with Avalanche.1070
Policy Regula2026-09-17 23:57:08U.S. sanctions Iran crypto exchange BitBank over Strait of Hormuz payments and IRGC transfersThe U.S. Treasury Department has placed Iranian cryptocurrency exchange BitBank on its sanctions list, saying the platform was controlled by already sanctioned Iranian financier Babak Zanjani. Treasury said BitBank was used to pay fees tied to the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz and to move hundreds of millions of dollars to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC. The move was described as part of Washington’s "Operation Economic Outcast," a program aimed at disrupting Iran’s sanctions-evasion network built around digital assets. The action adds BitBank to a broader U.S. effort targeting crypto-related channels that authorities say have been used to facilitate restricted financial activity.850
SBI Holdings2026-07-24 06:55:15Japan Crypto Giant SBI Acquires Bitbank for $289M, Signaling Shift to Licensed OligopolyJapanese financial group SBI Holdings acquires crypto exchange Bitbank for $289 million. Analyst Architect Partners says the deal buys licensed market scale, not profitability, as Japan's strict regulatory regime drives consolidation. SBI's custody assets double to ¥1.1 trillion and user base surpasses one million.580
SBI Group2026-07-23 11:20:14SBI Plans $300 Million Bitbank Acquisition to Push Managed Assets Above 1 Trillion YenSBI Group said it plans to acquire Japan-based crypto platform Bitbank for 46.7 billion yen, or about $300 million, lifting combined managed assets to roughly 1.1 trillion yen.880
