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Japan Pension Fund to Allocate 1% to Crypto as Currency Hedge
Japan's NBEPF will allocate 1% of assets to a crypto basket, treating Bitcoin as a currency hedge. The move coincides with regulatory reforms that could cut crypto tax rates and pave the way for spot ETFs.
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Japan's National Business Enterprise Pension Fund (NBEPF) will allocate roughly 1% of its assets to a passive cryptocurrency basket starting in fiscal year 2026, the firm announced. The fund covers 1,200 small- and mid-sized companies and manages about 21.3 billion yen. The digital assets portfolio will be managed by a large hedge fund rather than the pension fund itself.
Chief investment officer Kiguchi Aitomo framed the allocation as a currency hedge, not a speculative bet. The fund will treat Bitcoin and other digital assets as a currency class, similar to the dollar or euro, aiming for near-zero correlation with the yen. "We have been studying Bitcoin for over six years," Kiguchi said. "The industry has matured and now has a broader base of investors." The fund's overall currency portfolio will shift from 80% yen to 70% yen, with the freed-up 10% going to developed-market currencies, emerging currencies, gold, and crypto.
Kiguchi justified the move by citing the continuous weakening of the U.S. dollar as a reason for diversification. The fund is treating Bitcoin as a currency, not an appreciating asset, and adding it as one of several currency hedging tools. Bitcoin's near-zero correlation with the dollar provides resilience against currency depreciation, the CIO said. The fund is also considering strategies that pursue arbitrage across multiple cryptocurrencies.
The NBEPF's decision arrives as Japan's largest pension, the Government Pension Investment Fund, has signaled interest in crypto through smaller exploratory investments. Earlier this year, the GPIF made a smaller crypto bet link to Japan pension fund article. The NBEPF allocation could serve as a signal for other corporate pensions in Japan. A 1% allocation from each of the 1,200 member firms would represent a meaningful flow into digital assets, though the timeline remains gradual.