SBI Holdings to launch Japan’s first crypto-fund by end of November

Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings is reportedly planning to set up one of the first funds in the country that would grant crypto exposure to its investors, according to a report by Bloomberg.

SBI aims to create a crypto fund that will offer citizens the opportunity to invest in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), XRP, and others, by the end of November.

Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer at SBI, Tomoya Asakura, said that investors might be required to deposit a minimum of 1-3 million yen (roughly $9,000 to $27,000), which could see the fund growing to several hundred million dollars.

I want people to hold [crypto] together with other assets and experience firsthand how useful it can be for diversifying portfolios.

He further stated that SBI would consider launching a second crypto fund depending on the success of the first.

At the moment, the country’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) does not allow companies to operate crypto investment trusts. It goes without saying that the current regulatory framework has been making it rather tough for crypto exchanges to operate.

However, digital asset trading is beginning to grow in Japan despite a strict regulatory approach to crypto businesses.

The Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association announced in March that cryptocurrency deposits for the month reached 1.41 trillion yen (about $13 billion), seven times the amount from March the previous year.

More recently, BTC PEERS reported that leading US crypto exchange Coinbase expanded into Japan via a partnership with banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG).