SBI Holdings (8473.T) reported on November 2 that revenue from its crypto asset (virtual currency) business fell 30.1% year-on-year to ¥23.083 billion (approximately $145.5 million) in the first half of fiscal year ending March 2027 (April-September 2026). Pretax loss came to ¥1.595 billion (approximately $10.1 million), widening from a ¥147 million (approximately $930,000) loss in the same period a year earlier.
On a consolidated basis, revenue rose 17.2% year-on-year to ¥1.0575 trillion (approximately $6.7 billion) and pretax profit climbed 52.9% to ¥324.3 billion (approximately $2.0 billion), marking a record high for a first half. The crypto business, however, accounted for only about 2% of total revenue, underscoring the gap between it and the financial and asset management segments driving growth.
By quarter, the revenue decline was concentrated in the July-September period. Crypto business revenue was ¥13.9 billion (approximately $87.6 million) in April-June, up 25.9% year-on-year, but calculated back from the first-half figure, July-September revenue came to roughly ¥9.2 billion (approximately $58.0 million), down nearly 60% from about ¥21.9 billion (approximately $138.0 million) a year earlier.
Note: Account and deposit figures are domestic combined totals including Bitbank. Prior-year consolidated revenue and pretax profit were disclosed only as percentage changes.
In its earnings presentation materials, SBI said the crypto market was unstable throughout the period, citing difficult prospects for passage of the U.S. Clarity Act within 2026. While yen-denominated Bitcoin (BTC) prices rose 35.5% in the July-September quarter, the period average was about ¥11.28 million (approximately $71,000), more than 30% below the prior-year average of about ¥16.9 million (approximately $110,000), likely weighing on trading volume and fee income.
The business foundation nevertheless expanded steadily. On June 25, SBI announced an agreement to acquire shares of crypto asset exchange operator Bitbank for ¥46.7 billion (approximately $294.3 million), and Bitbank became a wholly owned subsidiary as of October 1. Integration of SBI VC Trade and Bitpoint services is also under way, with the company saying it is focused on building one of Japan's largest crypto asset trading platforms.
The group's domestic crypto asset accounts rose to about 3.05 million as of the end of September 2026, with combined deposits at that time reaching about ¥1.1116 trillion (approximately $7.0 billion), both including Bitbank. In June, SBI also began offering the yen-denominated stablecoin JPYSC, aiming to expand its use in payments and remittances.
In its earnings presentation materials, SBI listed as priority measures for the current fiscal year the construction of on-chain financial infrastructure toward realizing "SBI APAC," a digital economic zone in the Asia-Pacific region. The three pillars are developing on-chain exchanges in Japan and abroad, developing and distributing tokenized financial products in partnership with overseas partners, and promoting JPYSC circulation in Japan and overseas.
The contraction in crypto business revenue appears mainly due to lower trading fees amid weaker market prices, and the focus will be whether the business can reverse course in the second half and beyond, when the consolidation of Bitbank will contribute for a full period. With group-wide record profits continuing, the balance between investment burden in digital assets and profitability is likely to shape the stock's valuation going forward.
