Japanese finance firm hits back against Bitcoin ETF timeline: ‘2028 is too late’

Japanese finance firms are unhappy with government plans to delay the approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds for two years.

The top financial markets agency says the timeline is necessary to ensure its crypto ETF ban lifts in tandem with new digital asset tax reforms that are due to go live in 2028, Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported.

But at least one of these securities players says Tokyo is failing to act fast enough to keep up with global trends.

“Lifting the ban in 2028 is too late,” Tomoya Asakura, CEO of SBI Global Asset Management, wrote on X. “We strongly urge the government to lift the ban sooner rather than later.”

The delays also mean Japan risks lagging behind the US, Middle Eastern, and Asian rivals in crypto adoption, Asakura argued.

The growing tension between the Financial Services Agency and companies championing cryptocurrencies comes as Japan’s biggest traditional financial players press for wider crypto adoption.

Lagging behind rivals

Tokyo is giving its crypto tax regime an overhaul. It plans to ditch the current system, which taxes crypto profits as a form of income, in favour of capital gains taxation. For higher earners, that would mean a reduction from up to 55% taxation to a flat 20% levy.

The government also wants to let crypto traders defer their losses across tax years.

Satsuki Katayama, the Japanese finance minister, has confirmed that the reforms won’t take effect until 2028, which is now also holding back the launch of Bitcoin ETFs.

Overseas observers have welcomed the Financial Services Agency’s decision, saying it points to wider crypto adoption.

“This marks a significant milestone in the mainstream adoption of digital assets,” Didier Lavallée, founder and CEO of the financial services provider Tetra Digital Group, told DL News. “It allows broader retail investor access through regulated investment vehicles and demonstrates growing institutional acceptance of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies within one of the world’s leading financial markets.”

Katayama conceded that Tokyo is aware of “strong demand from the industry” for tax reform, which would put crypto taxation on an even footing with stock and foreign exchange trading.

She said around 13 million Japanese people currently trade crypto and said there was now cross-party support for the reforms.

“We hope that parliament will pass this bill quickly,” the minister said.

Tim Alper is a News Correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email him at [email protected].