SBI, Rakuten, and Nomura to Launch Bitcoin and Ethereum Investment Funds in Japan

Japanese brokerage giants SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities are developing in-house cryptocurrency investment trusts to provide retail investors seamless access to Bitcoin, and Ethereum. This strategic shift aims to bypass the friction of traditional digital asset exchanges by integrating crypto exposure directly into existing securities accounts, significantly lowering the barrier to entry for mainstream participation.

The current landscape for digital asset ownership in Japan presents a significant structural friction point for the average investor. To gain exposure to volatile assets like Bitcoin, retail participants are currently forced to navigate the complexities of opening dedicated exchange accounts or managing private digital wallets. This fragmentation creates unnecessary hurdles for capital entry, effectively isolating digital assets from the broader wealth management ecosystem. As major brokerages move to bridge this gap, the primary fiscal problem being solved is the lack of seamless distribution for digital assets within traditional brokerage frameworks.

To manage this transition, institutions are increasingly relying on specialized regulatory compliance and legal counsel to navigate the shifting sands of Japanese financial law. The complexity of integrating high-volatility assets into regulated investment vehicles requires a level of oversight that traditional brokerage models are only beginning to accommodate.

The In-House Integration: The SBI and Rakuten Playbook

Unlike traditional models that rely on third-party providers, the leaders in the Japanese market are opting for vertical integration. This approach allows for tighter control over the entire lifecycle of the product, from initial development to final distribution.

SBI Securities is positioning itself to dominate the space by leveraging its group ecosystem. According to a Sunday report by Nikkei, the firm plans to sell funds developed by its group company, SBI Global Asset Management. Their strategy involves a dual-pronged product rollout, offering both Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and investment trusts that focus on highly liquid assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. By handling everything from product development to distribution in-house, SBI is minimizing third-party dependencies and maximizing margin capture.

Rakuten Securities is pursuing a nearly identical strategy, albeit with a focus on mobile-centric accessibility. The firm is working closely with Rakuten Investment Management to build products designed to be traded directly through smartphone applications. This focus on the user interface aims to capture the growing demographic of mobile-first retail investors who demand institutional-grade assets with the simplicity of a consumer app.

This rapid product development cycle places immense pressure on the underlying technology stacks. As these firms scale, the demand for enterprise-grade fintech infrastructure providers will likely surge to ensure that real-time trading of digital assets remains stable under high-volume conditions.

Institutional Momentum and the Regulatory Pivot

The move by SBI and Rakuten is not an isolated phenomenon; it is the vanguard of a broader institutional realignment. Larger players are already mobilizing to capture their share of the projected crypto-wealth influx.

Nomura and Daiwa have both announced intentions to develop cryptocurrency investment trusts within their respective corporate groups. While they may be waiting for final regulatory clarity before a full-scale launch, the groundwork is already being laid. The institutional response is further evidenced by the SMBC Group, including SMBC Nikko, which has established a dedicated cross-group task force to evaluate strategic options. Even Mizuho Financial Group is participating in this shift, with its subsidiary Asset Management One beginning preliminary exploration of the asset class.

This institutional wave is being propelled by a massive regulatory shift in Japan. Last month, the Japanese government formally reclassified crypto assets as financial instruments under an amended Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. This move brought digital assets under the same regulatory umbrella as traditional stocks and bonds, providing the legal certainty necessary for major brokerages to move forward.

The final piece of the regulatory puzzle is expected to arrive by 2028. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) is currently working to revise the enforcement order of the Investment Trust Act. This revision will formally add cryptocurrencies to the list of specified assets that investment trusts are permitted to hold, effectively greenlighting the mass-market products currently being developed in-house.

Three Ways Crypto Trusts Transform the Japanese Market

The transition from dedicated exchanges to integrated investment trusts represents a fundamental shift in market structure. This evolution will impact three key areas of the financial landscape:

• Democratization of Asset Allocation: By allowing crypto exposure through existing securities accounts, the “on-ramp” for retail investors becomes frictionless. This allows for more sophisticated portfolio diversification, as investors can treat Bitcoin or Ethereum as standard components of a balanced portfolio rather than speculative outliers.
• Enhanced Liquidity and Market Depth: As institutional-grade investment trusts enter the market, they provide a structured way for large-scale capital to flow into digital assets. This increases the overall liquidity of the market and reduces the extreme slippage often seen in decentralized or exchange-only environments.
• Standardization of Digital Asset Custody: The shift toward investment trusts necessitates institutional-grade custody solutions. This move will likely drive the adoption of advanced digital asset custody services, moving the industry away from individual wallet management toward regulated, multi-party computation (MPC) and cold-storage frameworks.

The integration of these assets into the mainstream will require a massive upgrade in operational resilience. As the distinction between “crypto” and “traditional finance” continues to blur, the ability to manage the volatility of these assets within a regulated framework will become the primary differentiator for successful brokerages.

The roadmap for 2026 and beyond is clear: the era of the siloed crypto exchange in Japan is ending, and the era of the integrated digital asset brokerage is beginning. For firms looking to capitalize on this transition, the window for establishing dominance in the regulatory and technological infrastructure is closing swift. To ensure your organization is prepared for this shift in market architecture, explore the World Today News Directory to connect with vetted strategic business consultants and technology partners.