Japan ETFs said likely to trade by 2028 as SBI, Nomura ready products

Crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could be listed in Japan in 2028, Nikkei reported Monday, without saying where it got the information.

The regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), plans to allow cryptocurrencies as specified assets for ETFs under the Investment Trust Act, Nikkei said, adding that asset management experts estimated crypto ETFs in Japan could reach 1 trillion yen ($6.4 billion).

A 2028 debut is later than reported by Reuters in November. The news organization said the FSA was refining rule changes that would allow crypto trading services and ETFs to come into effect in 2026 or 2027 after approval by parliament.

The regulator did not respond to a CoinDesk request for confirmation sent after Tokyo office hours.

An introduction in two year’s time would leave the Japanese market some four years behind the U.S. Spot bitcoin BTC$87,853.01 ETFs started trading there in January 2024 and now hold $116 billion in assets, according to SoSoValue data. Spot ether ETH$2,907.93 ETFs, which debuted later, have $18 billion.

Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said two weeks ago she fully supports the integration of crypto trading services by the country’s stock exchanges. She touted 2026 as the “digital year.”

Katayama said regulated venues will play a central role in expanding crypto adoption. She spoke of crypto exchange traded funds in the U.S. and the benefits they offer as an inflation hedge.

In August, SBI Holdings filed for a dual-asset crypto ETF in Japan that would provide direct exposure to both bitcoin BTC and XRP, in a rare instance where XRP is formally bundled with BTC in an institutional-grade product. Nomura Holdings also expressed interest in developing crypto ETFs.

Any ETFs would need to be approved for listing by the Tokyo Stock Exchange.