Japan's largest brokerages are moving fast to bring cryptocurrency investment trusts to retail investors. SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities are both developing and planning to distribute their own in-house crypto funds, according to a Nikkei Asia survey published Sunday. The survey found that 11 Japanese brokerages are now eyeing entry into the crypto investment trust market — a notable shift for a country where retail crypto access has been largely limited to direct exchange trading.
Who's getting in
SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities are the two biggest names confirmed to be building proprietary crypto investment trusts. Both firms already operate their own crypto exchanges — SBI VC Trade and Rakuten Wallet, respectively — so the move into trust products is a natural extension. The Nikkei survey, which canvassed major brokerages, indicates that at least nine other firms are exploring similar offerings, though most are still in early planning stages.
Investment trusts are a staple of Japanese retail investing — they let people buy a basket of assets through a single product, often with low minimums. Offering crypto through this wrapper could pull in millions of ordinary savers who wouldn't open a separate exchange account. For the brokerages, it's a way to cross-sell crypto to their existing customer base without those customers leaving their platform.
The 2028 deadline
Japan's Financial Services Agency is reportedly considering a regulatory deadline of 2028 for crypto funds. That's still a couple years out, but the timeline is already shaping how firms approach product development. The FSA hasn't confirmed the deadline publicly, but the fact that it's being discussed adds pressure on brokerages to get compliant structures in place sooner rather than later. A 2028 target would give the industry time to sort out custody, valuation, and disclosure rules — but it also means the window for first-mover advantage is open now.
None of the brokerages have announced specific launch dates yet. The next concrete step will likely come from SBI or Rakuten, both of which have the infrastructure to move faster than smaller rivals. With the FSA signaling a 2028 regulatory horizon, the race is on to file the first prospectus and start marketing these products to Japan's retail investors.
