On October 9, 2025, a significant strategic alliance was formed in Japan’s financial sector as PayPay Corporation, the SoftBank-backed mobile payment giant, acquired a 40% equity stake in Binance Japan. This partnership officially made Binance Japan an equity-method affiliate of PayPay as of September 2025.
The core objective of this alliance is to seamlessly integrate PayPay’s extensive digital payment network with Binance’s cryptocurrency exchange platform. The companies plan to launch services that will allow users to purchase crypto assets within the Binance app using their “PayPay Money” balance and just as easily withdraw funds from crypto sales back into their PayPay wallet. This direct integration is designed to function as a smooth on-ramp and off-ramp between Japanese Yen and digital assets, eliminating the need for separate deposit steps and traditional bank transfers.
A Partnership Reshaping Finance
This move is strategic for both entities. For PayPay, with its massive user base of over 70 million people, this investment marks a key evolution from a pure cashless payment service into a broader digital financial platform. It allows PayPay to offer new, high-margin financial services and capture the growing user interest in digital assets.
For Binance Japan, the partnership provides unparalleled access to a mainstream Japanese audience. By leveraging PayPay’s trusted brand and widespread adoption, Binance can accelerate crypto adoption among consumers who may have found traditional exchanges intimidating or cumbersome. As Takeshi Chino, General Manager of Binance Japan, stated, combining PayPay’s user scale with Binance’s technology will make Web3 “more accessible to people across the country”.
This collaboration reflects a broader global trend of convergence between traditional fintech and cryptocurrency services, signaling a major step toward the future of digital finance in Japan.
