SoftBank’s PayPay Acquires 40% Stake In Binance Japan

Update (Oct. 9, 10:40 am UTC): This article has been updated to include comments from Binance Japan’s general manager, Takeshi Chino.

Binance Japan has entered into a capital and business agreement with PayPay, a mobile payment service operated by the major Japanese investment holding company, SoftBank Group.

SoftBank’s PayPay acquired a 40% equity stake in the Japanese subsidiary of global crypto exchange Binance, with Binance Japan becoming an equity-method affiliate of PayPay as of September 2025, the company announced on Thursday.

Following the acquisition, PayPay and Binance Japan plan to launch integrated services to allow Binance clients to buy and sell crypto assets using the cashless payment service PayPay Money.

“Through its continued evolution from a cashless payments business into a digital financial platform, PayPay will strive to deliver new value to users while contributing to the advancement of Japan’s financial infrastructure,” the company said in the announcement.

PayPay user base is 70 million

“PayPay has been advancing digital finance through smartphones in collaboration with our group companies in the financial sector, which share strong synergies with payments,” PayPay corporate officer Masayoshi Yanase said in a joint statement on Thursday.

“By investing in Binance Japan, which is a part of Binance, the world’s largest digital asset exchange by trading volume, we will provide Binance users with solutions that combine the convenience and security of PayPay,” the exec added.

PayPay’s investment in Binance Japan builds on its significant milestones in the market. Launched by SoftBank in 2018, PayPay surpassed 70 million users for the first time in July 2025.

PayPay processed at least 380 million remittances in 2024, a 36% increase from the 280 million transactions it processed in 2023, according to the company. This growth positions PayPay as one of Japan’s leading payment platforms, as bank transfer volumes rose by only 7.5% over the same period.

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According to a spokesperson for Binance Japan, the platform currently allows users to deposit and withdraw Japanese yen via bank transfers, making the PayPal integration a crucial step toward expanding payment options and operational convenience.

“By combining PayPay’s extensive user scale with Binance’s innovative technology, we will be able to make Web3 more accessible to people across the country and deliver secure, seamless digital assets services,” Binance Japan’s general manager, Takeshi Chino, said.

PayPay applied for US listing in August

Apart from pushing local growth, PayPay has recently sought to scale operations globally, announcing the launch of its payment service in South Korea in September.

PayPay also confidentially filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for listing American depositary shares on a US stock exchange in August.

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The exact schedule, size and price for the public listing were yet to be determined by the time of the announcement, PayPay said, adding that the potential listing is subject to market and other conditions.

The acquisition took place amid a strong rally in BNB (BNB), the native token of Binance’s BNB Chain, which recently rose to third place among cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

As of Thursday, BNB traded at about $1,300, up 26% over the past seven days, with a market cap of about $182 billion, according to CoinGecko.