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2026年05月15日

SBI's Second Web3 Restructuring Move: SBINFT Absorbed, NFT Repositioned as an Exchange-Embedded Function

SBI、Web3子会社再編の第二弾──SBINFT吸収合併でNFT機能を「取引所内蔵」へ、淘汰相次ぐ国内NFT市場の現実

Phase 2 of Focus and Consolidation, Anticipating FIEA Inclusion

The merger is structured as an absorption-type with SBI VC Trade as the surviving entity. SBI Group had previously decided in January to merge BITPOINT Japan into SBI VC Trade, completed April 1, 2026. Today's announcement applies the same logic — same surviving entity — to consolidate the NFT business. The consistent backdrop is Japan's review of bringing crypto assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA) framework, prompting groups to concentrate intra-group resources to strengthen regulatory readiness and earnings power.

A Clean B2C-Exit, B2B-Continue Split

The post-merger service rationalization is straightforward. The consumer marketplace "SBINFT Market" (rebranded from nanakusa in March 2022) will close on June 30. Meanwhile, the enterprise NFT marketing platform "SBINFT Mits" continues under SBI VC Trade, with integration into the exchange's services and SBI Web3 Wallet planned. Since 2025, Japan's NFT marketplace landscape has seen a cascade of closures: ANA's GranWhale NFT MarketPlace, Bybit NFT, X2Y2, and tofuNFT. SBI's decision reflects an emerging industry consensus that "standalone consumer NFT marketplaces don't survive on their own."

SBI's Web3 Vertical Stack and a New Role for NFTs

SBI Group is building a vertical stack: JPYSC (trust-type yen stablecoin with Startale, Q2 2026 launch), participation in Circle's stablecoin-purpose L1 "Arc" token presale, SBI Web3 Wallet, and the merged SBI VC Trade. NFTs are being repositioned not as a standalone product but as a customer-engagement feature inside the crypto-account-wallet-payment stack. The fact that SBINFT Mits survives is telling — NFTs serving enterprise customer-relationship needs have different economics from collectible primary issuance. The takeaway is not the death of NFTs, but the death of the "standalone NFT marketplace" business model — and the start of NFTs as a function within an integrated finance × Web3 infrastructure.

[Business Development Insights]

  1. The structural limits of standalone NFT marketplaces are now confirmed — ANA, Bybit, X2Y2, tofuNFT, and now SBINFT Market: the closure trend for consumer NFT marketplaces is industry-wide post-2025. Companies considering NFT initiatives should abandon the standalone-monetization model and design NFTs as embedded features in existing businesses (payments, loyalty, ticketing, IP).
  2. Regulatory transition windows are intra-group consolidation opportunities — The FIEA-inclusion review, stablecoin regulatory build-out, and tax reform proposals are giving financial groups strong incentives to consolidate Web3 subsidiaries. SBI's back-to-back mergers (April: BITPOINT; July: SBINFT) constitute proactive restructuring ahead of the regulatory inflection. Other financial groups and SIs are likely to follow.
  3. "Web3 vertical integration" is the new competitive axis — Exchange × stablecoin × wallet × NFT × L1 (Arc participation) traces SBI's blueprint as a finance × Web3 full-stack player. Single-function operators must decide soon whether to partner/integrate with vertical players or survive through niche specialization.

[Sources]

Supervisor

Akihisa Ishida

Cabinet Inc. Founder CEO

Since 2017, He has been consistently engaged in token and NFT utilization, blockchain game planning and development, and NFT-based business development. Having contributed to over 80 blockchain products—including projects for major entertainment companies listed in Tokyo Stock Exchange —He has served in various key roles such as Business Lead, Designer, PM, and Advisor. In 2021, founded Cabinet Inc.

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