SBI Group informed investors that once Japan reforms its rules regarding crypto funds and taxation, its asset management division plans to launch ETFs focused on Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as investment trusts that hold a basket of crypto assets.
SBI has already built its architecture through a joint venture with Franklin Templeton, established product categories, and set a target of $31.5 billion in assets under management within three years of launch.
SBI Global Asset Management Group’s assets under management exceeded $75.5 billion as of the end of March 2026, and the company holds a 51% stake in Franklin Templeton Venture and operates a wide range of securities businesses with assets under management of over $415 billion.
Once the crypto ETF product arrives, it will be connected to its distribution network. It’s the kind of investment that millions of Japanese households already have in stocks, bonds and mutual funds.
According to reports, the Financial Services Agency aims to enable cryptocurrency ETF trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2028, and if related legislation is passed, separate taxation could be applied as early as 2027.
Why Japan’s demand for Bitcoin ETFs is important
According to Bank of Japan data, Japanese households held $14.8 trillion in financial assets at the end of 2025, of which 48.5% was held in cash and deposits.
The government has been encouraging households to invest for years, and Japan’s tax-advantaged investment wrapper, NISA accounts, reached 28.26 million accounts and $447 billion in purchases by the end of 2025.
Achieving SBI’s target of $31.5 billion would require an allocation rate of just 0.21% of total household financial assets.
The number of virtual currency accounts in Japan has already reached approximately 14 million, almost half of the number of NISA accounts, and customer assets exceed $31.5 billion.
Chainalysis recorded a 120% increase in on-chain value in Japan in the 12 months to June 2025, the strongest growth among the top markets in Asia Pacific. The fund wrapper will channel existing demand through brokerages and brokerage platforms, where Japan’s extensive household savings already reside.
Hong Kong launched Asia’s first Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETF in April 2024, setting a regional precedent.
Japan will enter with clear structural advantages, including a much larger domestic savings pool, a well-established retail intermediary culture, and large financial institutions that already manage the day-to-day investment activities of millions of households.
With the approval of the US Spot Bitcoin ETF in January 2024, Bitcoin now has access to Wall Street balance sheets, registered investment advisors, and institutional custody.
In the Japanese version, Bitcoin will allow access to yen-denominated brokerage accounts, fund supermarkets, conservative household portfolios, and the tax-advantaged savings infrastructure that has already steered millions of retail investors into stock and bond funds.
With US ETF flows, US trading hours will become the dominant regulatory demand window, and Japanese ETFs will add a yen-denominated Asian time flow channel as a second layer of regulation, with its own institutional investors, custody providers, and intermediary incentives.
what must happen first
Proposed reforms could bring crypto benefits to Japan Current 55% cap Up to 20% consistent with the rate applicable to stock transactions.
SBI’s May 2026 document states that if the bill is passed, separate taxation could be introduced as early as 2027. A regulated ETF with a 20% tax cap would be a portfolio product.
Beyond taxes, the product will require regulatory approval on the structure of the ETF or mutual fund, custody framework, benchmark construction, depth of market makers, and a regulatory decision on whether a crypto fund can qualify for a NISA-style tax-advantaged account.
The final question could determine whether exposure to cryptocurrencies reaches the same households that currently purchase domestic and foreign equity index funds through NISA allocations.
Opening the savings rail or delaying regulation?
In the bullish case, crypto funds will receive a 20% tax break and qualify for mainstream long-term brokerage accounts by 2027, and SBI and Rakuten will launch the product across their integrated distribution network.
The $31.5 billion goal is within a three-year window, with funding coming from 14 million existing crypto account holders and securities investors who never want to open a crypto exchange account.
Japan joins Hong Kong in regulating Asian time ETF flows, expanding Bitcoin’s demand base to the second major currency and time zone.
Chainalysis’s 120% on-chain growth number indicates that domestic demand is already growing, and the ETF wrapper routes it through securities infrastructure into mainstream portfolio allocation.
In the bearish case, rules for ETFs and mutual funds will extend beyond 2028, and tax reform will introduce a framework to exclude cryptocurrency funds from NISA accounts.
The product will be launched in a high-risk classification, keeping it away from mainstream brokerage platforms and tax-advantaged accounts, and SBI will bring in between $3.1 billion and $12.6 billion, most of it from existing crypto-native users migrating to the regulated wrapper.
The story of regulated cryptocurrencies in Asia remains centered around Hong Kong and offshore trading venues, with the Franklin Templeton joint venture producing trusted products that reach only a narrow audience already familiar with cryptocurrencies.
Scenario What Should Happen 3 Years of Assets Under Management Results Market Impact Bullish Case: Open Savings Rail 20% Tax Benefits, ETF/Trust Approval, Mainstream Securities Trading, NISA Style Access Possibilities ~$31.5 Billion + Japan to Become Major Asian Time-Regulated Bitcoin Flow Channel Bearish Case: Regulatory delays ETF rules slip through 2028, crypto funds excluded from NISA, high risk classification restricted distribution ~$3.1 billion to $12.6 billion The product primarily serves existing crypto-native users. Hong Kong/offshore venues remain the focus
SBI has built a product architecture that addresses the regulatory opening initiated by Japan’s regulatory calendar.
The people who can meaningfully move funds into Bitcoin exposure in Japan may be the same people who hold $7.2 trillion in cash deposits and are already using NISA accounts to buy index funds.
ETF wrappers, tax incentives and intermediary distributions give these investors a familiar path, and SBI is currently building one.
