SBI Holdings to Launch Japan’s First Crypto Fund; Including BTC, ETH, DOT, LINK, XRP & BCH

Japanese financial services company SBI Holdings has announced the launch of Japan’s first cryptocurrency fund for retail investors that will invest in seven major crypto assets.

These assets include the top two cryptos, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), which are trading under $47k and $4k respectively, along with Polkadot (DOT), Chainlink (LINK), XRP, Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

As per the official announcement, this SBI cryptocurrency Asset Fund is the first in Japan to invest directly in crypto for general investors.

The maximum number of its holders is 499, said SBI, adding, “This product is an investment of 5 million yen or more in units of 1 million yen” (just under $9k) with no upper limit.

The fund will have a one-year investment period and is aiming to manage at least 10 billion yen (about $88 million). The application period for purchase is between Dec. 17, 2021, and Jan. 31, 2022, while the contract period will be between Feb. 1, 2022, and Jan. 31, 2023.

In case one crypto asset gains high dominance in the crypto fund, the composition will be rebalanced, as per the announcement.

Besides allowing the trading of crypto, SBI said it “may temporarily lend the cryptocurrency assets” to be sold to a crypto exchange for a short period of time as a technical measure.

The firm will charge a sales commission of 3.3% and a 0.66% management fee.

The fund will be allocating 20% of investment in crypto over the next three months, depending on the market conditions.

Back in early September, Tomoya Asakura, who oversees asset management for Japan’s biggest online brokerage, told Bloomberg that “Once people feel it firsthand … they will understand that we aren’t recommending cryptocurrencies as a tool of speculation.”

Meanwhile, in its official announcement, SBI noted the launch of the Bitcoin futures ETF which has increased the value of crypto-assets and the widespread use of NFTs using blockchain technology.