Japan crypto trust rollout nears as SBI & Rakuten align on BTC/ETH access

Published: 2026-05-17 22:30:45 |

Japan’s major brokerages are preparing crypto trust products for retail investors, aiming to deliver BTC/ETH exposure through existing securities accounts—no separate exchange account or self-custodied wallet required. SBI Securities will distribute funds designed by SBI Global Asset Management, including ETF-style structures tied to liquid assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). Rakuten Securities plans similar crypto trust offerings via Rakuten Investment Management through smartphone apps. The timeline is driven by Japan’s regulatory work. The Financial Services Agency plans to revise the Investment Trust Act enforcement order by 2028 so cryptocurrencies can qualify as “specified assets” for investment trusts. Separately, cabinet-approved legislation would reclassify crypto under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, with potential implementation as early as fiscal 2027. The Tokyo Stock Exchange also signals spot crypto ETFs could arrive around 2027. New cross-market context: Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo more than doubled crypto exposure in Q1 2026 to about $235M, adding BTC via ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and iShares Bitcoin Trust, adding ETH staking exposure via iShares Staked Ethereum Trust, and adding XRP exposure via Grayscale XRP Trust. It also opened iShares Bitcoin Trust call options, its first digital-asset derivatives move. For traders, this crypto trust rollout points to a rotation into regulated BTC/ETH/XRP demand pathways, which can improve liquidity and broaden spot-linked participation over time.

Bullish

Bullish for BTC/ETH/XRP because the Japan crypto trust rollout is likely to expand regulated, brokerage-based access ahead of (and alongside) potential spot ETF listings. In the short term, the news can lift sentiment and trading activity in BTC/ETH as “on-ramp” narratives strengthen. In the long term, clearer trust eligibility under the Investment Trust Act and the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act should broaden institutional-to-retail distribution, improving liquidity and potentially reducing frictions versus exchange onboarding. The added data from Intesa Sanpaolo—higher exposure plus ETH staking and XRP vehicle participation—supports the broader thesis of institutional rotation into regulated products, which is typically constructive for the underlying coins’ demand profiles.