Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings is reportedly launching the country’s first cryptocurrency fund.
Bloomberg reports that the fund will invest in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC) and possibly other crypto assets.
Tomoya Asakura, president of SBI affiliate Morningstar Japan K.K, says the fund primarily targets individual investors who are aware of the associated risks of cryptocurrencies and who can invest at least 1 million yen ($9,112) to 3 million yen ($27,336).
“I want people to hold it together with other assets and experience firsthand how useful it can be for diversifying portfolios.”
SBI aims to launch the fund by the end of November and if all goes well, Asakura says that the firm will quickly roll out a second one. He says the financial conglomerate may also consider launching a fund primarily aimed at institutional investors if there is sufficient demand.
It took SBI four years to materialize its plans for a crypto fund because of Japan’s stringent regulations on digital assets. Despite these strict rules, Japan’s crypto industry is pushing forward.
In July, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), which oversees the banking, securities and exchange and insurance sectors, launched a new unit to oversee cryptocurrency regulation.
The Ministry of Finance also considers increasing the number of its staff to ramp up its digital currency oversight.
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