Japan's SBI, Rakuten developing crypto investment trusts in-house: Nikkei

Japan's two largest online brokerages are developing crypto investment trusts in-house and plan to sell them directly to retail investors, according to a Nikkei Asia report on Sunday.

SBI Securities will distribute funds built by group company SBI Global Asset Management, with the planned lineup spanning both ETFs and investment trusts tied to liquid assets such as bitcoin and ether, Nikkei reported. The group intends to handle everything from product development to distribution internally.

Rakuten Securities is taking a similar in-house approach through Rakuten Investment Management, with the products designed to trade directly via its smartphone app, per the report.

Among 18 major Japanese brokerage firms surveyed by Nikkei, another 11 said they would consider offering crypto investment trust products once the regulatory framework is finalized. Nomura Securities and Daiwa Securities have already announced plans to develop trusts inside their respective groups, while SMBC Group, including SMBC Nikko, has formed a cross-group task force. Asset Management One, the asset manager under Mizuho Financial Group, has begun preliminary research, Nikkei said.

Japan's Financial Services Agency is moving to revise the enforcement order of the Investment Trust Act by 2028, which would formally add cryptocurrencies to the list of specified assets that investment trusts can hold. Separately, the cabinet approved a bill in April reclassifying crypto under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act; if passed in the current Diet session, the law would take effect as early as fiscal 2027 and bring crypto under the same securities regime as stocks and bonds.

The Block reported in November that SBI Global Asset Management was targeting roughly 5 trillion yen ($32 billion) in assets within three years of product launch, the most aggressive public ambition among Japan's wealth managers. SBI has also outlined plans for a dual bitcoin-and-XRP ETF and a gold-crypto product, both pending regulatory approval.

The launches would mark a meaningful shift in retail access. Today, buying digital assets in Japan typically requires opening a dedicated exchange account or setting up a wallet, while investment trusts could be held through existing brokerage accounts already used for stocks and bonds.

The ETF timeline has also tightened. Japan Exchange Group Chief Executive Hiromi Yamaji told Bloomberg in late April that the Tokyo Stock Exchange could list crypto ETFs as early as 2027 if legal reforms and tax treatment are finalized in the current Diet session, pulling forward an earlier Nikkei timeline of 2028. Nomura and SBI Holdings are expected to lead the first listings, alongside the in-house investment trust products now in development.

Not every Japanese megabroker is leaning in at full speed. Nomura's Swiss-based crypto trading subsidiary, Laser Digital, posted Q3 losses tied to market volatility, prompting the firm to scale back its trading exposure in February, though it reaffirmed its long-term commitment to the sector. The in-house trust strategy gives Japan's biggest brokerages a route into the asset class that leans on distribution and fees rather than principal risk.