Two of Japan's biggest financial groups — SBI Holdings and Rakuten — are weighing plans to offer Bitcoin and Ethereum investment trusts, according to people familiar with the matter. The move comes as Japan's latest crypto regulatory reforms and a broader brokerage expansion drive accelerate mainstream adoption, both among retail investors and institutions.
Why now
Japan's Financial Services Agency has been quietly loosening rules around crypto asset management products since late last year. The shift allows licensed trust banks and brokerages to wrap digital assets into traditional investment trust structures — the same wrappers used for stocks, bonds, and REITs. For SBI and Rakuten, both of which already run crypto exchanges and brokerage arms, the trusts are a natural next step. They let the firms offer a familiar product to clients who want crypto exposure without managing private keys directly.
The product shape
The trusts would likely be structured as beneficiary certificates, tradable on existing securities platforms. SBI's crypto arm, SBI VC Trade, and Rakuten's Rakuten Wallet already custody significant amounts of Bitcoin and Ether. Packaging those assets into a trust vehicle could unlock demand from pension funds, corporate treasuries, and high-net-worth individuals who have been waiting for a regulated, Japan-domiciled product. Neither firm has set a launch date, but internal discussions have progressed past the feasibility stage, sources say.
Brokerage expansion fuels the fire
The trusts aren't happening in a vacuum. Japan's online brokerages have been aggressively adding crypto services. SBI's main brokerage, SBI Securities, already lets clients trade a handful of cryptocurrencies directly through their securities accounts. Rakuten Securities, one of the country's largest online brokers, launched a similar service earlier this year. The investment trusts would extend that trend: instead of just spot trading, clients could buy into a diversified, professionally managed fund. That's a big deal for a market where trust-based products dominate retirement and savings portfolios.
Regulatory tailwind
Japan's crypto reforms have been deliberate. The country learned hard lessons from the Coincheck hack in 2018 and the Mt. Gox collapse long before that. Instead of banning crypto, the FSA built a licensing regime that's now seen as one of the clearest in the world. The latest changes treat certain crypto assets more like conventional securities, clearing the path for products like the SBI and Rakuten trusts. The timing also aligns with global moves: Hong Kong approved spot Bitcoin ETFs this spring, and the U.S. SEC is still wrestling with similar filings. Japan may leapfrog both in terms of product accessibility for retail investors.
What happens next is a matter of paperwork. SBI and Rakuten will need to file prospectuses and get trust licenses from the FSA. That process could take months. But the fact that two of Japan's most powerful financial firms are actively working on it signals that the era of crypto investment trusts in Tokyo is closer than many expected.
