Backpack Partners With Japan's Minna Bank for Yen Services

Crypto exchange Backpack has signed a cooperation agreement with Japan's Minna Bank to explore integrating banking services into its planned cryptocurrency trading platform in the country, according to a November 12 announcement.

The agreement, struck between Minna Bank — a digital banking subsidiary of Fukuoka Financial Group — and Trek Labs Japan, Backpack's Japanese subsidiary, will initially focus on letting Backpack users deposit and withdraw Japanese yen through the bank's infrastructure. That arrangement depends on Trek Labs Japan securing registration as a cryptocurrency exchange operator, which Japanese law requires before any company can offer domestic crypto trading.

What does the deal cover?

The partnership outlines several workstreams:

• Yen deposits and withdrawals via Minna Bank's Banking as a Service infrastructure, which embeds financial services directly into applications run by other companies.
• Tokenized deposits that Minna Bank has been exploring issuing — digital representations of bank deposits that remain claims on the issuing bank while operating inside blockchain-based systems.
• Connecting Backpack's investment services with Minna Bank's mobile banking application, which would let the bank's customers access the crypto platform's offerings.

Minna Bank said the companies intend to develop services for their respective customers by combining the bank's financial infrastructure with Backpack's trading technology. The agreement covers a potential partnership, and the firms expect to announce further details as discussions progress.

For Backpack, the deal is a market-entry lever. Japan's licensing regime has kept new foreign entrants scarce, and pairing with a licensed digital bank gives the exchange a rails-and-compliance shortcut once registration lands. For Minna Bank, it extends a deliberate Web3 strategy.

Is this Minna Bank's first crypto tie-up?

No. In June, the bank signed an agreement with Singapore-based Slash Vision to develop stablecoin payment services on its banking infrastructure. That collaboration included yen deposits and withdrawals through the Slash App, plus plans to support conversions between tokenized deposits and stablecoins, including USDC. The bank said it would explore offering the resulting payment infrastructure to other businesses seeking similar services.

Trek Labs Japan was established in April 2023 and is headquartered in Tokyo's Shinjuku district, developing and operating cryptocurrency and blockchain-related services. Its parent group operates Backpack internationally, offering a self-custodial wallet alongside a centralized trading platform.

Backpack has expanded into regulated markets through acquisitions before. In January 2025, the exchange acquired FTX EU, the former European business of the collapsed FTX exchange, following approvals from the relevant authorities.

How does Japan's regulatory backdrop shape the deal?

Japan has been updating its framework for digital asset businesses as more financial institutions move into the sector. In August, Nomura-backed Laser Digital secured registration as a cryptocurrency exchange service provider, becoming the country's first newly registered entrant in roughly four years. Laser Digital initially planned liquidity services for domestic crypto businesses before expanding into institutional digital asset trading.

The Financial Services Agency, meanwhile, has been pushing broader reform. It has moved to bring cryptocurrencies under financial instruments regulations and, as crypto.news reported in September, prioritized on-chain finance in its 2026 policy program — covering blockchain-based payments, securities settlement, tokenization and cross-border transfers. The agency also plans a dedicated forum to examine the technical and regulatory questions around blockchain-based financial services.

The near-term variable is timing. Yen rails, tokenized deposits and app integration all sit behind Trek Labs Japan's registration as a crypto exchange operator, and details of the partnership will land only as those discussions and the FSA's 2026 policy work progress.