Gumi, SBI launch ¥3 billion crypto fund as Japan eyes ETF rules

Gumi Inc., the Japanese gaming and blockchain firm, has teamed up with SBI Financial Services to launch SBI Crypto Fund I. The fund starts operating August 1, 2026, with a target size of ¥3 billion, or about $18.3 million.

SBI holds 51% of the fund through its financial services arm. Gumi's unit gC Labs owns the rest. Daiwa Securities Group and Yamada Securities Group are among the outside investors. The fund will only buy Bitcoin and major altcoins traded on recognized exchanges, using staking, hedging, and portfolio rebalancing to manage the money.

Gumi has been in digital assets since at least 2018. As of April 30, 2026, its total crypto holdings were worth about ¥14 billion, roughly $86 million. The company says it wants to become Japan's largest XRP treasury firm. SBI already owns about 34% of gumi through a capital and business partnership formed in 2022.

Gumi has created a unit called Neo Crypto to consolidate its digital asset work. The division is meant to build operating experience ahead of possible spot crypto ETF approvals in Japan, the company said.

The fund launch comes as Japan's parliament approved laws that reclassify digital currencies as financial instruments rather than payment tools. The legislation amends the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act and the Payment Services Act. Changes take effect in 2027, according to Cryptopolitan's earlier reporting.

The new rules open the door for future spot Bitcoin ETFs, though no products have been approved yet. The Financial Services Agency said it will now work on a framework for crypto ETFs.

The law also stiffens penalties. Running an unregistered crypto operation can now bring up to 10 years in prison, up from three years. The maximum fine rose from ¥3 million to ¥10 million. Stricter insider-trading rules apply, and crypto issuers and exchanges must share more information with investors and the public.

Lawmakers also backed a plan to cut the crypto tax rate from as high as 55% to 20%, though that change does not take effect until 2028. Under the new system, 15% goes to the national government and 5% to local governments.

SBI VC Trade, the crypto exchange arm of Tokyo-based SBI Holdings, said its registered accounts recently passed 2 million – about double the 1 million it had in 2025. The company says more businesses are moving money into Bitcoin and XRP to reduce exposure to a weak yen. Some of those companies also give out Bitcoin or XRP as part of shareholder benefit programs.

The account total covers both the VCTRADE and BITPOINT platforms, which came together after SBI VC Trade merged with BitPoint Japan in April 2026. The two brands are expected to fully combine around the end of December, which the company said should lower costs and align service levels.

Stablecoins have been another growth factor. SBI VC Trade listed USDC in March 2025, calling it Japan's first dollar-backed stablecoin. In June 2026, it added Ripple's RLUSD alongside JPYSC, a yen-pegged token it described as the country's first trust-based yen stablecoin. It also began offering loans against stablecoin holdings.

Japan's crypto market is still smaller than those in the United States and South Korea, partly because of strict rules. But rising account numbers and growing corporate interest suggest the market is gaining real traction, several traders said.