TOKYO, Nov 5 (Reuters) – From launching new products and services in Japan to facilitating leveraged trading betting, crypto exchanges and some financial firms are rushing to take advantage of growing investor enthusiasm for digital assets in hopes of easing regulations.
Register here.
Japanese investors’ crypto assets surpassed a record high of 5 trillion yen ($33.16 billion) at the end of July, up 25% from the previous month. The price of Bitcoin – the dominant stock – has only increased 15% in yen terms over the same period.
Since then, assets have fallen slightly to reach 4.9 trillion yen at the end of September.
“CONSiderable OPPORTUNITY”
.
“Then we have to think about how we are going to convince these people,” Hasuo said.
CJ Fong, managing director of Asia Pacific at crypto market maker GSR, said the company had also engaged in more discussions this year with Japanese exchanges and financial firms, primarily to provide greater liquidity across a spectrum of digital assets.
The burst of activity shows how Japan is re-establishing itself as a major crypto market, as industry players capitalize on the boost the industry has received globally under the leadership of US President Donald Trump.
“The Trump administration has been pushing the Japanese government and regulators to take a friendlier approach to crypto, so that Japan does not fall behind,” said Noriyuki Hirosue, CEO of the Bitbank exchange.
According to a report from crypto data platform Chainalysis, Japan ranked 19th out of the top 20 countries in crypto adoption this year.
NEW PRODUCTS AND ENTRANTS
Established exchanges are developing products and services in anticipation of regulatory changes that would tax gains on digital assets like those in securities and allow crypto investing through products such as ETFs and tax-exempt investment vehicles.
Japan’s Financial Services Agency is fine-tuning changes to the rules, which will then be debated by Parliament and, if passed, will take effect in 2026 or 2027.
A similar overhaul of tax rules around foreign exchange trading in 2012 sparked a boom that saw trading volumes increase tenfold within 10 years, Bitbank’s Hirosue said.
“I think it could expand the market significantly,” he added.
Mercari introduced simple crypto trading functions to its buyers and sellers in the marketplace in March 2023 and grew to 3.4 million crypto accounts as of July 2025, more than a quarter of Japan’s total of 13.2 million accounts.
Its rapid growth has helped introduce cryptocurrency trading to a much wider audience, industry players say.
SBI VC Trade plans to “enhance leveraged trading services” with a view to easing leverage trading ratios from the current two times to around 5 to 10 times, said representative director and president Tomohiko Kondo.
Japan’s financial regulator is considering allowing members of banking groups to launch cryptocurrency trading services, aiming to broaden market access and foster competition, the Nikkei reported in October.
AT THE CHAUSSÉE DES HAUTS
Japan’s crypto trading boom comes as retail investors seek higher returns and diversify from low-yielding assets like government bonds and bank loans.
“More than 90% of my assets are in cryptocurrency. A diversified portfolio only makes sense if you already have a large amount of money,” said Umi Soyama, a 27-year-old employee at a Tokyo-based advertising agency and a crypto investor for about two years.
“I want to take risks from time to time. If I accumulate enough assets, I will diversify into stocks, bonds and gold,” Soyama said.
Other investors reacted to Trump’s crypto boost. In the month he was elected, SBI VC Trade said it saw account openings increase five times more than usual.
However, the high volatility of crypto assets poses risks for new investors.
“It can go up or down. People need to understand this kind of movement and if they want to invest, it’s an alternative investment, not the main one,” said Motonobu Matsuo, chief executive of the Japan Securities Dealers Association.
And as asset prices approach all-time highs, some investors are now looking to reduce their holdings.
Kou Okamoto, chief financial officer of a Tokyo-based financial company, has invested a small portion of his assets in crypto since 2019. He now owns primarily bitcoin but plans to reduce his exposure to “altcoins” – those other than bitcoin.
“You can’t get 100 or 200 times returns on other types of investments and loosening regulations would make cryptocurrencies more attractive, but altcoins are like games of chance with slightly better odds than horse racing,” Okamoto said.
“I’m considering moving them to more medium-risk, medium-return investments,” he said.
($1 = 150.7800 yen)
Reporting by Anton Bridge in Tokyo and Rae Wee in Singapore; additional reporting by Junko Fujita in Tokyo and Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Kim Coghill
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
