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SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities are developing crypto investment trusts in-house, Nikkei reported — a notable move from two of Japan's largest online brokers, both of which already operate crypto venues alongside their traditional brokerage arms.
The build comes ahead of a broader push by Japan's Financial Services Agency, which is aiming to add crypto to the Investment Trust Act's "specified assets" list by 2028. That reclassification would clear the legal path for traditional fund vehicles to hold digital assets directly, opening the door for the rest of Japan's asset-management stack to follow.
Nomura, Daiwa, SMBC and Mizuho-linked Asset Management One are already weighing entries once the rules are finalised, per the report.
Why it matters
Japan is the world's third-largest economy and one of the few G7 jurisdictions where retail brokers already run licensed crypto exchanges side-by-side with stock brokerage accounts. SBI and Rakuten building trusts in-house rather than waiting on a third-party product is a signal that they expect demand from existing brokerage clients — the same users who already moved yen into crypto on the broker's own venue — to flow straight into a regulated fund wrapper once the legal box is ticked.
Market impact
The Investment Trust Act reclassification is the structural beat: a 2028 timeline gives traditional asset managers a known runway to staff up crypto products. For Bitcoin and Ethereum specifically, the read-through is a multi-year tailwind from a regulated, tax-familiar wrapper in a market that already runs a retail-friendly broker-to-exchange pipeline.
Frequently asked questions
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What are SBI and Rakuten building?
SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities are developing crypto investment trusts in-house, according to Nikkei — extending their existing brokerage-plus-crypto-venue businesses into regulated fund products.
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Why does Japan's Investment Trust Act matter?
Japan's Financial Services Agency is aiming to add crypto to the Investment Trust Act's "specified assets" list by 2028, which would let traditional fund vehicles hold digital assets directly.
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Which other Japanese asset managers are involved?
Nomura, Daiwa, SMBC and Mizuho-linked Asset Management One are weighing entries once the rules are finalised, per Nikkei.
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How does this affect retail crypto access in Japan?
SBI and Rakuten already operate licensed crypto exchanges alongside their stock brokerage accounts; a regulated trust wrapper would let existing brokerage clients move into crypto via familiar fund structures.
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What is the timeline for the regulatory change?
The FSA is targeting a 2028 reclassification of crypto under the Investment Trust Act, giving traditional Japanese asset managers a known runway to staff up crypto fund products.
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