Coincheck Group N.V., the holding company of Coincheck, Inc., one of Japan’s leading crypto asset exchanges, has agreed to acquire approximately 97 percent beneficial ownership of 3iQ Corp., an Ontario-based digital asset manager, from majority shareholder Monex Group, Inc. in a deal valued at approximately $153.6 million (US$111.8 million).
Under the agreement, Monex will exchange its shares in 3iQ’s holding company for 27,149,684 newly issued Coincheck Group ordinary shares, while Coincheck Group will offer equivalent terms to 3iQ’s minority shareholders, potentially issuing up to 810,435 additional shares to secure 100 percent ownership.
3iQ is considered one of the world’s leading alternative digital asset managers. Founded in 2012, the firm set out to give investors access to digital assets through traditional financial accounts. Over the past decade, it has been an early mover in several segments of the market, becoming in 2017 the first regulated digital asset investment fund manager in Canada, and in 2018 launching the Global Cryptoasset Fund, among the first funds to offer a diversified portfolio of multiple crypto assets. In 2020, it listed North America’s first major exchange-traded Bitcoin and Ether funds on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). In 2023, it rolled out QMAP, billed as the first digital assets managed account platform, a hedge fund investment solution aimed at providing risk-managed exposure to digital assets, and introduced what it says is the world’s first Ethereum staking ETF and North America’s first Ether staking ETP, allowing investors to earn staking rewards. In 2024, it sold a majority stake to Monex Group, supporting its push into global markets. In 2025, it launched one of the first Solana staking ETFs and a spot-based XRP ETF, and, in partnership with UAE-based Further Asset Management, launched Further x 3iQ Alpha Digital, a market-neutral, multi-strategy hedge fund offering risk-managed digital asset exposure.
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The deal marks another step in Coincheck Group’s global expansion strategy, particularly in the institutional segment. It follows the October 2025 acquisition of Aplo SAS, a Paris-headquartered registered crypto prime brokerage for institutional investors, and the March 2025 acquisition of Next Finance Tech Co., Ltd., a staking platform services company.
Coincheck Group plans to increase revenue across the expanded group by cross-selling services to institutional clients of 3iQ and Aplo, and by leveraging Next Finance’s staking capabilities for 3iQ, Aplo and Coincheck. The transaction is also expected to allow Coincheck Group to spread its public company costs over a larger and more diversified revenue base.
“We expect that 3iQ will bring to Coincheck Group proven innovation, expertise and institutional product offerings and infrastructure recognized in the digital asset investment management space,” Coincheck Group CEO and executive director Gary A. Simanson said in a press release. “By combining our strengths, we believe we will be better positioned to meet the needs of institutional and sophisticated investors and firms, including traditional financial institutions now seeking to include digital assets in their portfolio offerings to their customers. We also anticipate that the acquisition will be accretive to our earnings.”
Monex CEO and representative executive officer added, “We believe that this reorganization of our crypto-asset business segment by moving 3iQ under Coincheck Group unleashes increased opportunities for our growth and success internationally in both our crypto-asset and asset & wealth management businesses.”
Stikeman Elliott is serving as Canadian counsel, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett as U.S. counsel, and De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek as Dutch counsel to Coincheck Group, with Oppenheimer & Co. acting as financial advisor. Wildeboer Dellelce is serving as legal counsel to Monex Group, with Cinaport Capital as financial consultant.
The deal is expected to close during the second quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.
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