Bitbank, the operator of the cryptocurrency exchange ‘bitbank,’ has announced that it will transfer all shares of its subsidiary, Japan Digital Asset Trust Preparation Co., Ltd. (JADAT)—which was aiming to establish a trust company specializing in digital assets—to Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.
With this transfer, JADAT is scheduled to become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group. We will explain the background and circumstances behind this series of moves in a clear and detailed manner.
1. What kind of company was ‘JADAT’ in the first place?
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Background of establishment: It was originally a company launched in May 2022 through a joint agreement between bitbank and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings.
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Objective: By combining bitbank’s ‘advanced cryptocurrency management expertise’ with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust’s ‘traditional trust business know-how,’ the goal was to create a dedicated trust company where institutional investors and large corporations could safely deposit digital assets (such as cryptocurrencies).
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Until this announcement: Preparations were underway to officially complete registration under the Trust Business Act and change the company name to ‘Japan Digital Asset Trust Co., Ltd.,’ but the company reached this share transfer while still under the name ‘Preparation.’
2. Why is it being transferred to Sumitomo Mitsui Trust at this timing?
The background involves a major organizational restructuring surrounding the parent company, bitbank.
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Wholly owned subsidiary acquisition of bitbank by SBI Holdings: In June 2026, SBI Holdings announced that it would make bitbank a wholly owned subsidiary for approximately 46.7 billion yen (the transaction is scheduled to be completed around October).
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Group reorganization and business optimization: With the policy decided to join the SBI Group, it was determined that for the digital asset-specialized trust business (JADAT), it would be more conducive to the development of the industry as a whole and the promotion of the business to be under the full umbrella of the Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group, which possesses expertise and a solid foundation in banking and trust operations, leading to this transfer.
3. Future outlook
With this reorganization, JADAT will aim to realize digital asset trust services under the strong backing of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.
Meanwhile, bitbank, while becoming a member of the SBI Group, plans to continue collaborating with financial institutions and businesses by leveraging the cryptocurrency management and operational knowledge it has cultivated over many years, supporting the entire digital asset field. This is being watched as a major turning point for domestic Web3 and digital finance, where the movements of traditional financial giants and cryptocurrency/internet finance groups intersect.
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