Japan’s SBI and Rakuten Are Building Their Own Bitcoin and Ethereum Funds

SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities plan to launch in-house Bitcoin and Ethereum investment trusts as Japan rewrites its crypto rules by 2028.

The funds are coming from inside the house. SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities are each developing their own cryptocurrency investment trusts, according to a Nikkei survey published May 17. Both firms plan to handle everything from product development to sales entirely within their respective groups.

Not through a third party. In-house.

SBI Securities intends to sell funds built by SBI Global Asset Management, its group asset arm. The plan covers both exchange-traded funds and investment trusts, with Bitcoin and Ethereum among the target assets, given their higher liquidity relative to other digital assets. Rakuten Securities is taking a similar path, working with Rakuten Investment Management, and is aiming to make the products tradeable directly through its smartphone app.

The 18 Brokerages Japan’s Regulator Is Watching

Nikkei surveyed 18 major securities firms. Eleven of them said they would consider entering the space once regulatory guidelines are set. That list includes Nomura Securities, Daiwa Securities, SMBC Nikko Securities, Mizuho Securities and Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. Nomura and Daiwa have separately announced plans to build their own crypto investment trust products within their groups.

SMBC Group set up a cross-group task force. Asset Management One, the Mizuho Financial Group unit, has begun exploring the idea.

The Financial Services Agency is working to allow investment trusts and ETFs that include cryptocurrencies, with enforcement order revisions under the Investment Trust Act targeted by 2028. Cryptocurrencies would be added to the list of specified assets eligible for investment trust holdings. That is the trigger most of the 11 firms are waiting on before committing.

Until now, buying crypto in Japan meant opening an exchange account or setting up a wallet. Investment trusts would let ordinary retail investors trade through existing securities accounts. Lower barrier, same product.

Japan’s Tax Cut Is the Real Story Here

Japan’s parliament is still considering an amendment bill the government approved on April 10. The bill would formally classify cryptocurrencies as financial products. If it passes in the current Diet session, implementation is expected in fiscal year 2027. Tax on crypto gains would drop to 20 percent from a current ceiling of 55 percent, bringing it in line with how stocks and bonds are taxed.

That number, 55 percent, is why Japan’s retail crypto market has lagged behind other developed markets. The revised law also strengthens security requirements on exchanges and places stricter management demands on trust banks handling crypto in investment operations. This is a broader reshaping of Japan’s digital capital markets that has been underway for several months.

As of the end of April, the global cryptocurrency market cap stood at $2.55 trillion. Bitcoin ETFs have traded in the U.S. since 2024, with similar products listed in Canada, Hong Kong and Australia.

Japan, despite being one of the earliest countries to regulate crypto exchanges, has sat out the ETF race. That may be changing. SBI and Rakuten are not waiting for the 2028 deadline to start building.

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