The short answer: how to buy Solana in Japan
Open an account at an FSA-registered exchange, deposit yen from a bank account in your own name, and buy SOL. Twelve of the 14 main registered firms list it; Zaif and S.BLOX are the exceptions. Availability is easy. What decides your cost is whether the exchange gives SOL an order bookA board where buyers and sellers post orders and trade with each other. Fees are lower than at a dealer desk and you can set your own price. or sells it only at a dealer desk.
JVCEA data puts SOL at about ¥17.8 billion in August 2026, 2.3% of Japan’s ¥764.4 billion spot volume and fourth place behind Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP. That is far below the top three, which is why exchanges treat it more unevenly. Account opening is covered in how to buy Bitcoin in Japan.
What Solana is
Solana is a blockchain launched in 2020 for running apps, with SOL as the coin used for fees and staking. Like Ethereum it runs smart contracts, but it is built for speed and very small fees, which is why it is popular for payments, games, NFTs and meme-coin trading.
Two cautions. The network has suffered outages in the past, so reliability is worth weighing. And many tokens created on Solana are worthless or fraudulent. SOL itself is a separate asset from those tokens, and only coins that have been through the FSA process are sold on Japanese registered exchanges. For comparison with the other big coins see Ethereum and XRP.
Where to buy SOL: order book or dealer desk
At a dealer desk (販売所, hanbaijo)Hanbaijo. The exchange is your counterparty. One tap and done, but the gap between buy and sell price (the spread) is your real cost. you pay through the spread. On an order book (取引所, torihikijo) you pay a small trading fee and can set your own price. For SOL the order-book list is short, so check it first.
| Exchange | How you can buy | Cost and minimum | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| CEX.IO | — | — | International platform, not FSA-registered, no yen, Japan unsupported. We could not confirm a SOL listing on its official pages |
| bitbank | Dealer desk + order book | Order book −0.02% / 0.12%; minimum 0.0001 SOL | Every coin has an order book |
| GMO Coin | Dealer desk + order book | Order book from 0.01 SOL; maker −0.03%, taker 0.09% (rate for non-BTC/ETH/XRP pairs) | Free crypto sends; SOL staking available |
| Coincheck | Dealer desk (SOL also in its exchange fee table) | 0% / 0%; dealer spread published at 0.1–5.0% | From ¥500 |
| SBI VC Trade | Dealer desk only | From ¥1; spread not published | Order book covers only 8 coins; SOL staking available |
| Binance Japan | Dealer desk + exchange | 0.10% / 0.10% (VIP0) | Check its list for the SOL yen pair |
| bitFlyer | Dealer desk | From ¥1 | SOL was not among Lightning spot pairs (archived data) |
| Rakuten Wallet | Dealer-style spot | From ¥100 | Order book only for margin trading |
| Mercoin | Inside the Mercari app (from ¥1) | Pay from Merpay balance or sales proceeds | SOL added 31 Aug 2026; Coincheck is counterparty and custodian |
| OKJ, BitTrade, CoinTrade, Coin Estate (FINX) | Listed | Check each site | OKJ offers SOL staking; CoinTrade is dealer desk only |
If you want an order book, start with bitbank or GMO Coin. SBI VC Trade lets you start from ¥1 but sells SOL at the dealer desk only, and it does not publish its spread, so for larger amounts compare its price with another exchange. Mercoin offers a different route: buy from ¥1 inside the Mercari app using your sales balance. Deposit and withdrawal costs are in our fee comparison.
About CEX.IO
CEX.IO is an international platform, not registered with Japan’s FSA, with no yen support and Japan on its unsupported-country list. We could not find an official page confirming that it sells SOL, so the table shows “—”. It is relevant for visitors and non-residents using foreign cards, not for people living in Japan.
Staking SOL in Japan
StakingLocking coins to help run a blockchain and earning rewards. Price risk on the coins remains. SOL means delegating it to validators, the operators who verify transactions, in exchange for rewards. Japanese exchanges typically do this for you in a pool and share the rewards. The things to compare are the exchange’s cut and whether you can still sell or send while staked.
| Exchange | Your share / rate | Minimum | Lock-up / unstaking |
|---|---|---|---|
| SBI VC Trade | 75% of results; SOL about 4.4% a year (latest actual) | No minimum or maximum | No lock-up; sell or withdraw any time |
| GMO Coin | Exchange keeps up to 28% (changes monthly); for SOL only the delegation fee is deducted first | None stated | No lock-up; rewards paid the 10th–17th of the next month |
| OKJ | Flexible about 2.28% a year; fixed 4.88% (30 days) or 6.33% (60 days) | 0.05 SOL | 3 days to unlock; early exit from a fixed plan forfeits all rewards |
SBI VC Trade supports staking for 14 coins, GMO Coin for ETH, DOT, ATOM, ADA, SOL and ASTR, and OKJ for 12 coins. OKJ’s fixed plans pay more but you lose every reward if you exit early. Rates move constantly, so look at the terms, not only the headline percentage. BITPOINT also offered SOL staking, but it has closed to new accounts and is being merged into SBI VC Trade.
Rewards are income at their market value when received (NTA FAQ 1-7); later sales are calculated separately from that value. Rewards do not protect you from price falls.
Sending SOL: network mix-ups
Always send SOL on the Solana network. Its addresses look different from Ethereum’s “0x” addresses, but exchanges differ in which networks and tokens they support, so confirm on the receiving side. Other tokens built on Solana (SPL tokens) are different assets, and sending one to a deposit address meant for SOL can leave it unrecoverable.
Japanese exchanges apply the Travel Rule when you withdraw: you state whether the destination is your own wallet or another provider. SBI VC Trade and GMO Coin list crypto sends as free; check the fee page at other exchanges. See our wallet guide for what to expect.
- Confirm the destination supports SOL on the Solana network.
- Send a small test first.
- Copy-paste the address and verify the first and last characters.
- Never type your recovery phrase into any site or chat.
Solana tax in Japan
Buying SOL with yen and holding it is not taxable. Selling it, swapping it into another coin and paying with it are. Using SOL in a token swap or to buy an NFT counts as selling the SOL at that moment, and active Solana users can generate many such events, so record-keeping matters. Profit is generally miscellaneous income, added to your other income and taxed at 5–45% plus 10% resident tax.
Losses cannot be offset against other income or carried forward. The 20.315% separate tax covers only specified crypto-assets, starts in 2028 at the earliest, and the list of qualifying coins is undecided, so do not plan around SOL being included. See crypto tax in Japan and the 20% reform. This is general information, not advice; ask a tax office or accountant.
Risks to watch
SOL tends to move more than the largest coins, and dealer-desk spreads can widen when markets are rough. Limit orders on an order book or splitting purchases over time tends to give steadier results. Scams cluster around Solana meme coins and airdrops: fake wallets, phishing links and “high-yield staking” messages. Treat anything pushing you toward an unregistered offshore platform with suspicion (crypto scams in Japan, offshore exchanges). Recurring-purchase availability for SOL varies, so check each exchange. See the coin guide for the full list.
Buying Solana in Japan: FAQ
Which exchanges in Japan sell Solana?
On the FSA register as of 30 September 2026, bitFlyer, bitbank, GMO Coin, BitTrade, SBI VC Trade, Coincheck, Rakuten Wallet, OKJ, Binance Japan, Mercoin, CoinTrade and Coin Estate (FINX) list SOL. Zaif and S.BLOX do not.
Can I buy SOL on an order book in Japan?
At some exchanges. bitbank gives every coin an order book, and GMO Coin lists SOL on its spot exchange from 0.01 SOL. SBI VC Trade’s order book covers only eight coins (including Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP), so SOL there is dealer-desk only. Without an order book your cost is the spread.
Can I stake Solana in Japan?
Yes. SBI VC Trade pays 75% of results (about 4.4% a year for SOL on its latest actuals), GMO Coin offers SOL staking, and OKJ offers a flexible plan at about 2.28% and fixed plans at 4.88% (30 days) or 6.33% (60 days). Rewards are miscellaneous income when received.
What is the minimum to buy SOL?
At dealer desks it is ¥1 at Mercoin and SBI VC Trade, ¥100 at GMO Coin and Rakuten Wallet, and about ¥500 at Coincheck. On GMO Coin’s order book it is 0.01 SOL. You never need to buy a whole coin.
What should I check before sending SOL?
Make sure the destination supports the Solana network and the coin itself, since other Solana tokens are different assets. Send a small test first. Japanese exchanges also ask for Travel Rule information about the destination.
How does Solana compare with Ethereum?
Both run apps. Solana is built for speed and low fees; Ethereum is larger, with more apps and more exchanges offering staking. In Japan Ethereum was 18.2% of spot volume in August 2026 against 2.3% for Solana.
Sources
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