Japan is set to launch a new cryptocurrency investment fund as the country moves toward permitting exchange-traded funds tracking digital assets.
The fund, called SBI Crypto Fund, is 51 percent owned by SBI Financial Services and 49 percent by Gumi gC Labs. According to the announcement, the fund plans to buy bitcoin and major altcoins and generate returns through staking, with portfolio rebalancing and hedging tools used to manage risk.
SBI Financial Services is part of the SBI holding group and develops financial services related to digital assets. Daiwa Securities Group and several other Japanese firms have also invested in the project.
Mobile game developer Gumi has built its own digital asset business, accumulating XRP holdings. As of April 30, Gumi's crypto assets were valued at 14.13 billion yen ($86 million), nearly double the 7.58 billion yen ($46 million) recorded a year earlier.
In July, Japan's parliament passed amendments to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act and the Payment Services Act, permitting crypto ETFs to launch on the Tokyo Stock Exchange from 2028.
Japan's Nationwide Business Corporate Pension Fund, which serves around 1,200 small and medium-sized businesses, has separately announced plans to invest about 1 percent of its assets in cryptocurrencies.
