Japan Bitcoin Industry takes ¥800 million in BTC to build Lightning payments outside card networks
- Japan Bitcoin Industry is raising about 800 million yen entirely in Bitcoin from Fulgur and ANAP Lightning Capital.
- The company has also signed a Lightning routing partnership with ALC.
- The money funds its aurora payment product, which lets Japanese sellers take cross-border Bitcoin payments without card networks.
Japan Bitcoin Industry has said that it will raise over 800 million yen by selling shares. The company intends to accept payment for its shares in Bitcoin only.
The money from the share sale, as well as a deal with ALC, aims to help Japanese sellers, such as those in anime, games, and adult content, get paid by overseas customers without relying on international card brands.
How much is Japan Bitcoin Industry selling its shares for?
Japan Bitcoin Industry has said that it will be issuing new shares to two investors: Fulgur, the Japanese arm of US venture firm Fulgur Ventures, and ANAP Lightning Capital (ALC), a subsidiary of Tokyo-listed ANAP Holdings (TSE Standard: 3189), for 800,043,580 yen.
Every yen of the roughly 800 million yen raise will be contributed in Bitcoin rather than cash, with the payment scheduled for November 2. The money, once received, will go towards building aurora, hiring, the routing business, and research.
Alongside the fundraise, the firm signed a business alliance with ALC on Lightning routing. ALC will supply the Bitcoin that funds Japan Bitcoin Industry’s payment channels, and together they want to build what they call a domestic routing base.
The Lightning Network depends on channels that pass payments between users to handle Bitcoin payments off the main blockchain. Through this system, small payments go through in seconds at low cost. But the channels that pass payments between users must be funded in advance.
Japan Bitcoin Industry was founded in November 2024. Its main product is aurora, a Lightning payment option that merchants can add to their checkout through an API. The company presented aurora at the Bitcoin Asia conference in Hong Kong in August.
The company says that with Bitcoin, no one can block a sale and buyers abroad don’t need a card.
It already uses UseBitcoin, which is an online shop service that uses Lightning, and has operated Lightning systems for two years.
Who is backing the bet?
Since 2019, Fulgur Ventures has put money only into Bitcoin and Lightning companies, and in October 2024 it led Blockstream’s $210 million funding round. Rintaro Kawai, the firm’s Japan representative, said Fulgur will continue backing Japan Bitcoin Industry and lead its future rounds.
The two also plan to team up on developer training and outreach, centered on Tokyo Bitcoin Base in Yotsuya and in Sado, Niigata Prefecture.
For the year ended August 2026, ANAP Holdings, ALC’s parent company, lost 4.37 billion yen on the value of its Bitcoin and 7.32 billion yen overall, even though it recorded a 1.22 billion yen gain the year before.
ALC, on the other hand, owned around 814 Bitcoin after a transfer in July 2025, and HashKey Group said in April that the wider group holds roughly 1,417 BTC, putting it in Japan’s top three listed holders.
Notably, Lightning handled about $1.17 billion across 5.22 million transactions in November 2025, with monthly volume up 300% over the year and an average payment of $223. However, that count was still below the August 2023 peak of 6.6 million.
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FAQs
How much is Japan Bitcoin Industry raising and how is it being paid?
The company is raising 800,043,580 yen through a third-party share placement, with the full amount contributed in Bitcoin rather than cash and payment due November 2, 2026, according to its press release.
Who are the investors in the deal?
The two allottees are Fulgur, the Japanese base of US firm Fulgur Ventures, and ANAP Lightning Capital, a subsidiary of Tokyo-listed ANAP Holdings. The per-investor split was not disclosed.
What is aurora meant to do?
Aurora is a Lightning Network payment option that merchants add to existing checkout methods via an API, designed so each merchant runs its own node and Japan Bitcoin Industry never holds the funds, letting Japanese sellers accept cross-border Bitcoin payments outside card networks.
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Hannah Collymore
Hannah is a writer and editor with nearly a decade of blog writing and event reporting experience in the crypto space. At Cryptopolitan, Hannah contributes to the news page, reporting and analyzing the latest developments in DeFi, RWA, crypto regulation, AI and frontier tech industries. She graduated from Arcadia university with a degree in Business Administration.
