Japan's SBI, Rakuten Plan Crypto Investment Trust Offerings for Retail Investors

According to a Sunday report by Nikkei, Japan’s major brokerages SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities are developing crypto investment trust products to give retail investors access to digital assets through conventional securities accounts. SBI Securities plans to sell funds developed by group company SBI Global Asset Management, covering Bitcoin and Ethereum. Rakuten Securities is working with Rakuten Investment Management on similar products tradeable through smartphone apps. Other large financial firms including Nomura, Daiwa, SMBC Group and Asset Management One are also moving toward the market as Japan’s regulatory framework takes clearer form. Japan’s Financial Services Agency is preparing to revise the Investment Trust Act by 2028 to formally add cryptocurrencies to specified assets investment trusts can hold.