Why Are Japan’s Brokerages Moving Into Crypto Trusts?

Japan’s major brokerages are preparing to offer crypto investment trusts to retail investors, opening a potential new route into digital assets through conventional securities accounts rather than dedicated crypto exchanges or self-custody wallets.

SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities are already developing products within their own groups, according to a Sunday report by Nikkei. Other large financial firms, including Nomura, Daiwa, SMBC Group and Asset Management One, are also moving toward the market as Japan’s regulatory framework takes clearer form.

The change would be important for ordinary investors because crypto access in Japan still usually requires a separate…