Eleven major Japanese brokerages are preparing to offer crypto investment trusts once the regulatory framework is finalized, with SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities already developing in-house products for Bitcoin and Ethereum exposure. The shift would let retail investors access crypto through ordinary brokerage accounts instead of separate exchange accounts or self-custody wallets.
The operational change is straightforward but important. A retail customer who previously needed to open a crypto exchange account, complete separate KYC, fund the account and manage custody could instead buy a fund through the same brokerage rails used for stocks, bonds and mutual funds.
Brokerages Compress the Crypto Purchase Flow
SBI Securities plans to sell products developed within its own group through SBI Global Asset Management, while Rakuten Securities is preparing investment trusts through Rakuten Investment Management and related group firms. That approach gives the firms more control over product design, custody, reporting and distribution than simply acting as third-party fund distributors.
The broader brokerage sector is also lining up. Nomura, Daiwa, SMBC-linked firms, Mizuho’s Asset Management One and other large securities groups are studying or preparing similar products as rules evolve, reflecting a wider institutional move to embed crypto exposure inside Japan’s mainstream investment stack.
JUST IN: Japan’s SBI and Rakuten are preparing to sell in-house crypto investment trusts for $BTC and ethereum:native exposure. pic.twitter.com/r9T9naxGqP
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) May 17, 2026
The old route was fragmented: exchange onboarding, separate identity checks, fiat transfer, crypto purchase and custody setup. The new route would collapse that into brokerage login, fund subscription and portfolio-level exposure, reducing steps per operation and lowering user anxiety around wallet management.
Custody also shifts away from the end user. Investors would hold fund units rather than direct BTC or ETH, meaning key management, asset safekeeping and reconciliation move into institutional custody and fund-administration layers.
Regulation Will Define Product Design
Japan’s Financial Services Agency is working toward rule changes that would allow investment trusts and ETFs to hold crypto assets under the Investment Trust Act, with 2028 cited as a target for broader ETF-style approval. The reform path also includes treating crypto more like financial instruments, with stronger disclosure and market-integrity rules.
Those rules will shape what brokerages can show inside purchase screens, risk disclosures and confirmation flows. Compliance teams will need clear custody statements, fee transparency, NAV-to-underlying reconciliation and suitability controls before these products can scale.
The trade-off for investors is direct ownership versus simplicity. Trust structures remove the need to manage wallets or private keys, but they add fund fees, counterparty exposure and reliance on institutional custody arrangements.
For brokerages, the opportunity is deeper account engagement. Crypto exposure inside existing apps can improve conversion and retention, especially if customers can evaluate BTC and ETH products alongside equities, bonds and funds in one portfolio view.
The next phase will depend on regulatory timing, product fees and custody standards. If the FSA path remains intact, Japan’s largest brokerages could turn regulated crypto trusts into a familiar retail investment product rather than a separate exchange-based activity.