Japan's Biggest Brokerages Are Going All-In on Bitcoin Trusts



 Something large is happening in Japan's financial sector, and it has direct implications for anyone holding crypto assets anywhere in the world.

SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities, two of Japan's biggest online brokerages by retail customer base, have confirmed they are developing cryptocurrency investment trusts in-house. This is not a press release about future possibilities. Both companies are actively building the products, with SBI working through its asset management arm, SBI Global Asset Management, and Rakuten building through Rakuten Investment Management.

The products are designed to sit inside regular brokerage accounts. Investors will not need to open a separate exchange account or manage private keys. For ordinary retail investors who have stayed on the sidelines of crypto because the process felt unfamiliar or risky, that changes the equation significantly.

Beyond SBI and Rakuten, a Nikkei survey of 18 major securities firms found that 11 others are preparing to enter the market once Japan's Financial Services Agency finalises its regulatory framework. Nomura, Daiwa, SMBC, and Mizuho-linked institutions are all studying the space.

The regulatory picture is also moving quickly. Japan's cabinet approved a bill on April 10 that would reclassify crypto under the same legal category as stocks and bonds. If passed, the maximum tax rate on crypto gains drops from 55% to 20%. That change alone could shift how millions of retail investors think about holding Bitcoin or Ethereum.

The FSA is targeting a formal revision of the Investment Trust Act by 2028, which would legally allow investment trusts to hold crypto as a specified asset class. Japan Exchange Group Chief Executive Hiromi Yamaji indicated in late April that ETF listings on the Tokyo Stock Exchange could come as early as 2027 if the current parliamentary session finalises the legal changes.

For crypto holders watching institutional adoption signals globally, Japan's regulatory trajectory is one of the cleaner pictures available right now. Thirteen institutions in a single market moving in the same direction, with a government-backed tax reform supporting them, is not a small signal.

Full analysis, including what this means for the FSA's custody requirements and the broader Asia-Pacific investment trust landscape, is available at CryptoNewsLive.org.

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