SBI Group plans to launch Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs — as well as multi-crypto investment trusts — once Japan reforms its crypto fund rules and taxation. The Tokyo-based financial conglomerate has set an AUM target of $31.5 billion within three years of launch for its crypto ETF products. SBI Global Asset Management Group's AUM already exceeded $75.5 billion at the end of March 2026.
SBI's $31.5 billion target
Reaching that $31.5 billion goal would require only 0.21% of total Japanese household financial assets — which stood at $14.8 trillion at the end of 2025. Nearly half of those household assets, 48.5%, sit in cash and deposits. The math suggests even modest retail rotation into crypto ETFs could hit SBI's target. Japan's crypto accounts have already reached approximately 14 million, with customer assets exceeding $31.5 billion.
Regulatory timeline
Japan's Financial Services Agency aims to enable crypto ETF trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2028. Separate taxation for crypto gains — currently capped at a 55% ceiling — could drop to 20% as early as 2027 if the relevant legislation passes. That tax change alone would make crypto ETFs markedly more attractive to retail investors accustomed to the country's NISA tax-free investment accounts. NISA accounts hit 28.26 million accounts and $447 billion in purchases by the end of 2025.
Growing crypto adoption
Japan's crypto market is already heating up. Chainalysis recorded the country's on-chain value received up 120% in the 12 months to June 2025, the strongest growth among top APAC markets. The launch of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in Hong Kong in April 2024 and in the US in January 2024 gave global investors a template — and Japan's regulators are watching. SBI's roadmap includes products for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and multi-crypto investment trusts, pending regulatory approvals.
The key unanswered question is whether Japan's parliament passes the separate taxation bill in 2027. If it does, SBI could be ready to list almost immediately after. If not, the FSA's 2028 TSE listing timeline becomes the next concrete deadline.
