One of Japan’s leading financial groups, SBI Holdings, has submitted applications to the Financial Services Agency of Japan (FSA) for the creation of two exchange-traded funds focused on cryptocurrency assets. According to the company’s official quarterly report, one of the new ETFs will invest in shares of cryptocurrency and gold ETFs, while the other will invest directly in Bitcoin and XRP.
This is reported by Finway
Structure of the New Cryptocurrency ETFs from SBI Holdings
- Digital Gold Crypto ETF – this fund plans to allocate up to 51% of its assets in shares of gold ETFs, with the remaining 49% in cryptocurrency ETFs. This balanced strategy, according to SBI Holdings, will allow investors to achieve an optimal combination of traditional and digital assets.
- Crypto-Assets ETF – focused on investments directly in Bitcoin and XRP, which the company estimates are among the most promising sectors of the digital asset market.
“The company has submitted both applications to the Financial Services Agency of Japan (FSA), but has not yet received a response. Among major markets, the spot XRP ETF is only traded in Canada.”
Regulatory Changes and Support for Innovation
In June 2025, the Japanese financial regulator proposed to classify crypto assets as financial products. This innovation opens up the possibility for launching cryptocurrency ETFs in the Japanese market and helps reduce the tax burden for investors.
Industry analysts believe that similar funds may receive approval in the U.S. as early as the fourth quarter of 2025. In particular, Bloomberg Intelligence expert James Seyffart predicts that this will happen in the coming months.
SBI Holdings is actively developing the digital asset infrastructure in Japan. Previously, the company formed a strategic partnership with Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, and also invested in Circle during its IPO. SBI Holdings is also interested in launching yen-pegged stablecoins and implementing products like USDC and RLUSD from Ripple Labs.
The company emphasizes its openness to collaboration with regulators and its readiness to offer its own solutions for the development of the digital finance market in Japan.