unbanked inc.

unbanked株式会社 (unbanked inc.) is a Japanese financial group headquartered in Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. It was established on 8 November 1972 through the consolidation of Daiichi Commodities (第一商品株式会社) and Takatsu Shoji (高津商事株式会社) in Osaka, and for most of its history operated as a commodity futures brokerage under the name Daiichi Commodities. The company began trading gold bullion in 1981 and listed its shares over the counter in 1996, later moving to the Tokyo Stock Exchange JASDAQ Standard market in 2013 and to the TSE Standard Market in 2022. The group today describes itself as a corporate group comprising the parent's gold bullion business, a subsidiary's corporate lending business and crypto asset business, and a crowdfunding business. Its stated ambition is to create innovative financial services for the Web3 era, transcending traditional gold bullion trading and lending. The name "unbanked" (pronounced "Anbank") expresses the aspiration to elevate traditional asset management and banking services into new Web3-era services. The group's portal provides access to premium financial products including gold. Key offerings include gold bullion trading, the gold-linked crypto asset Kinka (ticker XNK), corporate lending, and loan-type crowdfunding. The company reports cumulative gold bullion trading volume of 150 tonnes, cumulative crowdfunding applications of 314.9 billion yen, and a corporate history of 52 years. It is a member of the New York Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) and banks with Mizuho Bank, Resona Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. The company has undergone significant restructuring since 2020, when an accounting fraud investigation led to business suspension, the loss of its Osaka Exchange trading participant qualification, the transfer of part of its commodity futures business to Nissan Securities, and the closure of branches. It abolished commodity futures trading in April 2021. It renamed itself UNBANKED株式会社 on 1 July 2024 and unbanked株式会社 on 1 July 2025. In May 2026 it received a second designation as a special attention stock from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

unbanked株式会社 was established on 8 November 1972 as Daiichi Commodities (第一商品株式会社) through a consolidation of Daiichi Commodities and Takatsu Shoji (高津商事株式会社) in Osaka. Before 1972 it was under the Yoshihara Group, whose leading shareholder was Tadashi Honda until his death in September 2018. The company began gold bullion trading in June 1981. It was licensed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to handle listed commodities including agricultural products, crude oil, gasoline, and kerosene. In July 1976 it opened "Pisc" commodity trading public relations centers in Tokyo and Osaka. In June 1980 it moved its head office to Tokyo. In March 1982 it obtained a commodity trading member qualification for the Tokyo Gold Exchange (now Tokyo Commodity Exchange). In April 1991 it joined the Japan Commodity Futures Industry Association. In March 1996 it listed its shares over the counter (later JASDAQ). In August 2007 it moved its head office to Shibuya-ku. In July 2013, following the integration of the Tokyo and Osaka stock exchanges, it listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange JASDAQ (Standard). In 2020 the company was hit by an accounting fraud scandal. On 10 March 2020 it announced the establishment of a third-party committee to investigate accounting fraud, and on 30 April 2020 it published the investigation results. The investigation found that between March 2015 and October 2019, approximately 1.8 billion yen spent under the guise of advertising expenses without actual service provision was disguised as recovery of bankruptcy reorganization claims (long-term loans, 1.2 billion yen), and that the remaining approximately 600 million yen was deposited into customer margin accounts, with customer margin funds having been diverted to disguise recovery of the company's fixed operating receivables. Officers and shareholders were involved, but names were withheld in the report. On 11 July 2020 the Tokyo Stock Exchange designated Daiichi Commodities as a special attention stock (特設注意市場銘柄) for the first time due to past inappropriate accounting and lack of compliance. On 17 August 2020 the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries ordered a 20-business-day suspension of commodity futures operations from 17 August to 11 September 2020. Because the company could not obtain Osaka Exchange trading participant qualification due to past inappropriate accounting, on 28 May 2020 it announced the transfer of part of its commodity futures business (Tokyo Commodity Exchange precious metals, rubber, and agricultural markets), the Nagoya branch, and the Osaka branch to Nissan Securities effective 20 July 2020. It closed all 10 branches nationwide on 31 July 2020, and reduced its workforce by about 200 employees through early retirement and transfers. It lost its precious metals futures market trading participant qualification, which had accounted for 90% of operating revenue. On 30 April 2021 it abolished commodity futures trading, and on 1 July 2021 it transferred part of its head office gold bullion trading business to its subsidiary Daiichi Premier Securities. On 30 November 2020, Daiichi Commodities acquired 11 shares of Crowd Bank and allocated 3,850,000 new shares to CB1 Fund, which held 6.75% of Crowd Bank's common shares, as a capital and business alliance. The two companies sought business synergies and new business development. In March 2022 Crowd Bank became an equity-method affiliate. On 1 April 2022 the Tokyo Stock Exchange lifted the special attention designation, and the company moved from JASDAQ (Standard) to the Standard Market. In November 2022 it established Kinka (BVI), Ltd., the General Incorporated Association Gold Fund, and Gold Management LLC. In January 2023 its overseas subsidiary began selling the gold-linked crypto asset Kinka. In June 2023 it made Personal Capital a subsidiary. In December 2023 it transferred all shares of Daiichi Premier Securities to TRISTARS Consulting and transferred the gold bullion trading business back to Daiichi Commodities. In February, March, and April 2024 Kinka (XNK) was listed on CoinW, BitMart, and MEXC respectively. In April 2024 it moved its head office to Ebisu, Shibuya-ku. On 1 July 2024 it changed its trade name to UNBANKED株式会社, and on 1 July 2025 to unbanked株式会社. In September 2024 it formed a partnership with EMURGO, part of the Cardano group, and made Crowd Bank Capital a subsidiary. In March 2025 it transferred all shares of Personal Capital. In April 2025 Kinka launched on the Cardano chain. In May 2025 it began offering the new gold trading service UNB Gold. On 26 May 2026 the Tokyo Stock Exchange designated it as a special attention stock for the second time, the second company to receive such a designation after having had it lifted, following Aldepro.

• Established as Daiichi Commodities through consolidation in Osaka

• Opened "Pisc" commodity trading PR centers in Tokyo and Osaka

• Moved head office to Tokyo

• Began gold bullion trading

• Obtained commodity trading member qualification for Tokyo Gold Exchange

• Joined Japan Commodity Futures Industry Association

• Listed shares over the counter (later JASDAQ)

• Moved head office to Shibuya-ku

• Listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange JASDAQ (Standard)

• Reached 100 tonnes cumulative gold bullion trading

• Announced investigation into accounting fraud

• Published accounting fraud investigation results

• Made OK Premier Securities a subsidiary

• Designated as special attention stock for the first time by TSE

• Transferred part of commodity futures business and branches to Nissan Securities

• Closed all 7 remaining branches nationwide

• Received 20-business-day suspension of commodity futures operations

• Formed capital and business alliance with Crowd Bank

• Abolished commodity futures trading

• Transferred part of head office gold bullion trading to Daiichi Premier Securities

• Crowd Bank became equity-method affiliate

• TSE lifted special attention designation; moved to Standard Market

• Established Kinka (BVI), Ltd., Gold Fund, and Gold Management LLC

• Overseas subsidiary began selling gold-linked crypto asset Kinka

A Japanese financial group bridging traditional gold bullion trading and Web3-era financial services, offering gold, lending, crowdfunding, and gold-linked crypto assets.

• Gold bullion trading

  Physical gold bullion sales and purchase service; cumulative trading volume of 150 tonnes.

• Kinka (XNK)

  Gold-linked crypto asset issued by overseas subsidiary; listed on CoinW, BitMart, MEXC, and launched on Cardano chain.

• UNB Gold

  New gold trading service launched in May 2025.

• Corporate lending

  Loan services for corporations provided by a subsidiary.

• Loan-type crowdfunding

  Crowdfunding service collecting small investments from investors and lending to companies; cumulative applications of 314.9 billion yen.

1. 1unbanked株式会社 official websiteunbanked.jp
2. 2会社概要 – unbankedunbanked.jp
3. 3Unbanked - Wikipedia (Japanese)ja.wikipedia.org
4. 4Unbanked - Wikidatawikidata.org