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According to BBX data, last weekend Japan's largest financial group completed the most important cryptocurrency acquisition, and U.S. bipartisan senators launched a new regulatory offensive against prediction market platforms. The core developments are as follows:SBI Holdings, Inc. (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 8473) announced the acquisition of the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Bitbank (privately held) for approximately $289 million. After the transaction is completed, SBI's cryptocurrency business will surpass all competitors, creating Japan's largest cryptocurrency exchange. SBI Holdings is one of Japan's largest independent financial services groups, already owning cryptocurrency-friendly network bank SBI Shinsei Bank, cryptocurrency asset custodian SBI Digital Asset Holdings, and multiple Bitcoin mining and cryptocurrency venture capital investments. Bitbank is one of Japan's largest spot BTC exchanges and holds an official cryptocurrency exchange license from the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan. This acquisition marks a shift for traditional Japanese financial institutions from "strategic trial" in the cryptocurrency sector to "scale acquisition dominance," alongside the joint stablecoin plan of the three major banks: Mitsubishi UFJ ($MUFG), Sumitomo Mitsui ($SMFG), and Mizuho ($MFG) (targeting March 2027), forming the most intensive wave of cryptocurrency layout in Japan's financial industry by 2026.U.S. Senators John Curtis (Republican, Utah) and Adam Schiff (Democrat, California) reported on June 28 that they jointly sent a letter to the CFTC, urging it to conduct a formal investigation into the prediction market platform Polymarket (privately held), citing a "concerning" investigative report regarding Polymarket's "deceptive marketing" practices, which accused it of systematic misleading in user acquisition and risk disclosure. This is the third regulatory offensive against prediction market platforms initiated by Congress this year (previously, the House Oversight Committee launched an insider trading investigation on May 22); the two senators come from different parties, which is significant. For Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ: $HOOD), this investigation poses indirect pressure—Robinhood's prediction market/event contract business (which achieved a record daily trading volume in June) faces the same regulatory qualitative disputes as Polymarket; however, Robinhood's defensive advantage lies in its ongoing application for a CFTC Designated Contract Market (DCM) license, providing a clearer compliance path compared to Polymarket.

According to Nikkei News, SBI Group announced the acquisition of the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Bitbank for 46.7 billion yen (approximately 289 million USD). Through this acquisition, SBI's cryptocurrency custody balance is expected to exceed 1 trillion yen (about 6.2 billion USD), making it the largest cryptocurrency business in Japan. A subsidiary of SBI Holdings will acquire shares of Bitbank from individual shareholders, including the founders, in August, and then Bitbank will acquire shares held by existing shareholders Mixi and Ceres by the end of October. Combining the account data from SBI VC Trade (as of April), the total number of accounts after the merger is approximately 2.92 million, with total managed assets of about 1.1 trillion yen. SBI Holdings disclosed in May that it is negotiating capital business cooperation for the subsidiary status of Bitbank.

According to a report by South Korea's "Daily Economic News" on Friday, Hyundai Motor Group plans to acquire SoftBank Group's remaining 9.65% stake in Boston Dynamics for $325 million, making the American robotics company a wholly-owned subsidiary.Hyundai Motor is expected to hold a board meeting on June 22 to approve the acquisition. The report cited unnamed industry sources stating that SoftBank has notified Hyundai Motor of its intention to exercise the "put option" agreed upon during the previous sale of Boston Dynamics shares to sell its remaining holdings.

According to Cryptonomist, the prediction market platform Kalshi recorded a trading volume of $5.1 billion in the first week of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, setting a historical high for the platform. In May, Kalshi's monthly trading volume had already approached $18 billion, setting a historical record at that time. Kalshi also announced an official partnership with the Argentine Football Association (AFA) during the World Cup, with Messi promoting the platform on social media.

The Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Bitbank today issued a risk warning to users regarding the use of prediction market services such as Polymarket.The announcement pointed out that prediction platforms that trade on future events, elections, or sports results using cryptocurrency assets are mostly operated by overseas institutions. If users access these platforms from within Japan and participate in trading for the purpose of making financial gains, they may be suspected of violating Japan's relevant gambling regulations.Bitbank emphasized that if the platform detects withdrawal and deposit records related to prediction markets or suspected related services in a user's account, it may implement suspension measures on that account. Once an account is suspended, the user will be unable to log in, trade, or withdraw and deposit cryptocurrency assets and yen, and the platform will not be responsible for any losses incurred as a result.

According to the official announcement, Bitget has launched a football viewing gift box distribution event for VIP users, open for participation from June 15 to June 30. During the event, users who maintain a formal VIP1 level or above and complete the delivery information registration will have the opportunity to receive a gift box, with limited quantities available on a first-come, first-served basis.This gift box is divided into V1-V3 football viewing gift boxes and V4-V7 premium limited gift boxes, with the premium gift boxes supporting customized exclusive jerseys. The gift boxes will be distributed starting from July 3. If the physical gift boxes are exhausted, the platform will replace them with spot leverage interest reduction coupons. Detailed rules have been published on the Bitget official platform, and eligible users can go to the event page to participate in the collection.

Bitget announced the launch of the global football-themed event "Universal Cup," which transforms sports viewers into participants through interactive mini-games. Users can choose representative teams from 48 participating countries and engage in a penalty shootout challenge that integrates elements of cryptocurrency, stocks, and CFDs, competing for a total prize pool of 250,000 USDT. During the event, users' individual scores will contribute to the national rankings, forming a dynamic global leaderboard; even if the selected country is eliminated, users can switch countries to continue participating. The prize pool will be distributed through daily rewards, leaderboard rewards, lucky draws, and champion rewards, with the event ending on July 19.Bitget CEO Gracy Chen stated that the Universal Cup combines the atmosphere of global sports events with the UEX panoramic exchange ecosystem, helping users intuitively understand multi-asset trading scenarios through engaging interactions. Bitget has signed a contract with Messi and is a multi-regional official partner of La Liga. This event continues Bitget's long-term layout in the field of sports marketing, promoting the synergy between sports narratives and the multi-asset trading system.

Polymarket announced on Thursday that it has signed an exclusive partnership agreement with the Berlin digital football platform OneFootball, which will connect the prediction market to OneFootball's 200 million monthly active users and 645 million fan ecosystem about two weeks before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Polymarket will be the only prediction market partner within the OneFootball app, and competitors like Kalshi will not be allowed to enter this product.This is Polymarket's seventh major football partnership this year and the first collaboration aimed at media application distribution channels, having previously signed agreements with MLS, LaLiga, Serie A, Lazio, and DAZN.According to analysis by the Pew Research Center, since July 2024, sports have accounted for 39% of Polymarket's total trading volume. The 2026 World Cup champion market has seen a cumulative trading volume of over $1.2 billion since its launch last July, while the broader World Cup category market totals approximately $1.3 billion.OneFootball has previously launched the OFC token based on Base and Ethereum, as well as the points system BALLS. The integration with Polymarket will convert user engagement into actual transactions. OneFootball has raised over $300 million in funding, with investors including Liberty City Ventures, Animoca Brands, and Adidas.

SoftBank Group's stock price rose to a record high on Monday, as the market bets that its holdings in OpenAI and SB Energy could bring substantial returns if they go public in the future. Since May 20, SoftBank's stock price has increased by 40%, and the company's market value has surpassed 40 trillion yen (approximately $252 billion).The stock price surge over the past two days was driven by reports that OpenAI is preparing to submit an IPO application in the coming days. The power infrastructure company SB Energy also stated that it plans to secretly file for an IPO in the U.S. As OpenAI seems to be getting closer to an IPO, concerns about competitors like Anthropic, Google, and xAI threatening OpenAI's position have eased.Takashi Nakagawa, a senior analyst at TokaiTokyo Intelligence Laboratory, stated that the market is "extremely excited about the long-awaited OpenAI IPO finally approaching reality." He noted that this move will enhance the transparency of the currently opaque valuations in the artificial intelligence sector. A significant portion of SoftBank's portfolio consists of AI-driven private startups.

According to the official announcement, Tether International announced the acquisition of all shares held by SoftBank in Twenty One Capital (XXI), becoming a larger controlling party. After the transaction is completed, the board members of XXI appointed by SoftBank have exited the board in accordance with the shareholder agreement.Tether stated that this move reflects its long-term strategic commitment and confidence in building a publicly listed company from scratch with Bitcoin at its core. The announcement pointed out that SoftBank's early involvement provided important institutional background and governance experience for XXI, helping the company complete its initial phase layout, and Tether will drive XXI into the next stage of development based on this foundation.

SoftBank Group stated that as of the end of March, the accumulated book profit from its investment in OpenAI was $45 billion. By April 2026, a total of $20 billion in loans had been utilized, primarily for investing in OpenAI, of which $2.5 billion was repaid in that month.

According to market news, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son is in talks for a major data center project in France; the related deal may be announced this month.In addition, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son is considering making a multi-billion dollar investment.

According to on-chain data monitored by Catcher Predict, significant capital movements are predicted in the market Polymarket. A large whale invested $212,520 in a single bet on the event "Nottingham Forest Football Club vs Newcastle United Football Club," specifically targeting "Newcastle United Football Club." Based on the current transaction price, the latest corresponding winning probability for this bet is 46%.

According to on-chain data monitored by Catcher Predict, significant capital movements are predicted in the market Polymarket. A large whale fund made a single purchase of $79,644.8 on "Arsenal Football Club" for the event "West Ham United Football Club vs Arsenal Football Club." Based on the current transaction price, the latest corresponding winning probability for this target is 64%.

SoftBank Group is scaling back a financing plan that used OpenAI equity as collateral, which was originally intended to raise about $10 billion in margin loans, and is now likely to be reduced to around $6 billion.It is reported that some lenders have expressed concerns about the transaction structure and the reliability of OpenAI's valuation as a private company, which has become one of the key factors hindering the progress of the financing. The loan was initially designed to use the OpenAI equity held by SoftBank as collateral, with a term of two years that could be extended by one year, aimed at further expanding its investment layout in the field of artificial intelligence.

Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings has begun negotiations to acquire shares in the cryptocurrency exchange platform Bitbank, aiming to turn it into a consolidated subsidiary. SBI Chairman and President Yoshitaka Kitao stated that the company has submitted a letter of intent for the acquisition and has started discussions with Bitbank regarding capital and business cooperation. The specific timing and structure of the acquisition will be determined after due diligence and internal procedures are completed.Bitbank is one of Japan's major domestic cryptocurrency exchange platforms and has not experienced any hacking incidents since its establishment in 2014, with security as its core selling point. As cryptocurrency assets are gradually incorporated into Japan's Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, SBI believes that integrating Bitbank into the group will enhance its position in the Japanese cryptocurrency market. This move comes as SBI continues to consolidate its cryptocurrency exchange platform SBI VC Trade. Last month, SBI incorporated another exchange platform, Bitpoint Japan, into this department to streamline operations and improve profitability.Earlier this week, Bitbank also launched Japan's first credit card linked to cryptocurrency assets, allowing users to pay bills using assets like Bitcoin based on their exchange holdings, and offering a 0.5% cashback on cryptocurrency asset spending.

According to the Financial Times, sources revealed that SoftBank Group plans to establish and list an independent smart robotics and data center company named "Roze" in the United States. SoftBank aims to take Roze public within this year, with a target valuation of $100 billion.SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son is driving this process, which aims to make up for the hundreds of billions of dollars the company has invested in the field of artificial intelligence. SoftBank has been continuously increasing its debt, and Son is trying to position himself as a key player in the global AI boom, having made significant investments in OpenAI.