SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities Developing In-House Crypto Investment Trusts

According to a Nikkei Asia report on Sunday, Japan’s two largest online brokerages SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities are developing crypto investment trusts in-house and plan to sell them directly to retail investors through their platforms. SBI Global Asset Management will build products spanning ETFs and investment trusts tied to bitcoin and ether, with the group handling product development and distribution internally. Rakuten is taking a similar approach through Rakuten Investment Management, with products designed to trade via its smartphone app. Japan’s Financial Services Agency is moving to revise the Investment Trust Act by 2028 to formally add cryptocurrencies as specified assets investment trusts can hold.