The National Business Corporate Pension Fund, a Japanese corporate pension fund, plans to start investing in crypto assets in fiscal 2026. The fund serves about 1,200 small and medium-sized companies and manages approximately 21.3 billion yen, or roughly $136 million. It plans to allocate about 1% of total assets to crypto through a passive fund managed by a major hedge fund, holding multiple crypto assets.
Investment Strategy
The fund’s main goal is currency risk diversification, rather than a short-term bet on crypto prices. Its fiscal 2025 asset mix stood at 80% yen, 15% dollars, and 5% other currencies. For fiscal 2026, the fund plans to cut yen exposure to 70% and add a 10% allocation to developed-market currencies. Another 5% would include emerging-market currencies, gold, and crypto.
Market Outlook
Aiyu Kiguchi, the fund’s investment executive director, reportedly said the dollar “may lose its status as a reserve currency,” explaining why the fund did not raise dollar holdings. The fund reached its view after about six years of research, stating that the market had “matured” as the investor base became deeper. The fund is also studying funds that use arbitrage strategies across several crypto assets.
Regulatory Environment
The pension plan comes as Japan moves toward a wider rewrite of crypto rules. Japan’s lower house passed a bill on June 11 to move crypto assets from the Payment Services Act to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. This shift could help open a path for regulated crypto exchange-traded funds in Japan, although further upper-house review and rulemaking are still needed.
Institutional Investment
The pension fund’s plan marks a cautious step by a medium-sized Japanese asset owner, showing that some domestic institutions now see limited crypto exposure as part of currency and portfolio planning. Osaka Exchange, part of Japan Exchange Group, aims to launch Bitcoin futures in 2028 if spot Bitcoin ETFs become legal in Japan, to meet hedging demand from institutional investors.
Based on reporting from crypto.news.
