A Japanese corporate pension fund serving about 1,200 small and medium-sized businesses plans to allocate roughly 1% of its assets to cryptocurrency during fiscal 2026.
The Nationwide Business Corporate Pension Fund, based in Okayama, will invest in a passive fund managed by a major hedge fund that holds multiple crypto assets. The pension fund manages about 21.3 billion yen in assets, or approximately $130 million.
The fund aims to diversify its exposure, allocating 80% of its assets to yen, 15% to US dollars, and 5% to other currencies. This move indicates growing acceptance of crypto among Japan’s conservative institutional investors as the country prepares to integrate digital assets with traditional finance.
Japanese lawmakers are supporting this shift, with recent legislation passed to bring crypto assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, aligning them closer to traditional financial rules. Anticipated changes include a path for crypto exchange-traded funds and a flat tax on digital-asset gains.
Financial groups in Japan are also innovating new access channels for crypto investments. For example, SBI Shinsei Bank is testing a deposit-linked rewards program offering vouchers for Bitcoin, Ether, or XRP, set for a permanent launch this autumn. Moreover, Metaplanet, the largest publicly listed Bitcoin holder in Japan, agreed to acquire Siiibo Securities for 2.1 billion yen to facilitate Bitcoin-linked yield products through a new securities arm.