SoftBank’s PayPay Takes 40% Stake in Binance Japan to Bridge Cashless Payments and Crypto Adoption

Strategic alliance marks a new phase in Japan’s digital finance shift 

TL;DR

• SoftBank-backed PayPay has acquired a 40% stake in Binance Japan, forming a capital and business alliance to merge crypto with mainstream payments.
• The integration will allow users to buy crypto using “PayPay Money” and move funds between the two platforms.
• The deal comes as Japan’s crypto adoption accelerates, with institutional interest and regulatory clarity increasing.

PayPay Corporation, the SoftBank-owned digital payments giant, has acquired a 40% equity stake in Binance Japan, marking one of the most significant partnerships between a fintech heavyweight and a global crypto exchange in the Japanese market. Announced on October 9, 2025, the deal makes Binance Japan an equity-method affiliate of PayPay as of September and solidifies a capital and business alliance designed to fuse crypto trading with Japan’s booming cashless payment infrastructure.

Executives from both firms described the collaboration as a long-term push to bring crypto into everyday consumer experiences. PayPay, which serves roughly 70 million users nationwide, plans to enable Binance Japan customers to buy digital assets directly through its PayPay Money wallet and withdraw crypto proceeds seamlessly into the same platform. The companies said they will explore wider integrations that combine payment rails, custody, and compliance infrastructure, setting the groundwork for crypto’s entry into Japan’s mainstream financial networks.

Takeshi Chino, General Manager of Binance Japan, called the partnership “a significant step toward making Web3 more accessible” across the country. He noted that combining Binance’s global trading technology with PayPay’s scale would help remove onboarding friction for users who are familiar with cashless payments but have not yet entered the crypto space. PayPay executives echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the alliance’s role in advancing Japan’s digital financial ecosystem and supporting the government’s broader goals for financial innovation.

The deal underscores a notable pivot by PayPay from a pure cashless payment service into what executives described as a “digital financial platform.” The company, backed by SoftBank Corp., Vision Fund, and LY Corporation—a joint venture between SoftBank and South Korea’s Naver—has been expanding aggressively beyond mobile payments. It launched services in South Korea in September and reportedly filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in August to list American depositary shares.

Financial terms of the Binance Japan stake remain undisclosed, but the partnership reflects a tightening relationship between Japan’s fintech sector and global crypto markets. Binance reentered Japan by acquiring Sakura Exchange BitCoin (SEBC) in late 2022 to obtain regulatory licensing under the Kanto Local Finance Bureau. Since then, Binance Japan has expanded its offerings to include spot trading, “Earn” products, and plans to list up to 100 crypto assets as it pursues a Type-1 financial instruments license for broader services.

The timing aligns with a shift in Japan’s policy environment. Regulators have been preparing to classify certain crypto assets as formal financial products, potentially by 2026, and have relaxed previous restrictions on stablecoin issuance. Domestic projects such as JPYC are already testing yen-pegged tokens, signaling growing regulatory comfort with blockchain-based payment solutions.

Recent data highlights how rapidly Japan’s digital asset market is evolving. On-chain value received within the country grew about 120% year over year in the 12 months to June 2025, outpacing several Asia-Pacific peers. At the corporate level, Tokyo-based Metaplanet has become the world’s fourth-largest public Bitcoin holder, with approximately 30,823 BTC valued around $3.3 billion. Institutional interest is following suit—surveys from Nomura’s digital asset arm Laser Digital suggest over half of Japanese institutional investors plan to allocate 2–5% of their portfolios to crypto within three years.

Market observers describe the PayPay–Binance Japan alliance as one of the most consequential moves in Japan’s financial sector since the rise of cashless payments. It signals that crypto is no longer operating on the fringe but being woven into the country’s digital economy at scale. Analysts note that beyond its immediate technical implications, the partnership serves as a broader signal that Japan’s fintech and regulatory environment is maturing fast enough to accommodate a hybrid future—one where traditional payments, stablecoins, and blockchain infrastructure coexist under regulated, interoperable systems.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.