Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Group is teaming up with US asset manager Franklin Templeton to bring Bitcoin-based spot exchange-traded funds to the Japanese market. SBI Group will own 51% of the joint venture.
While spot Bitcoin ETFs have already been approved in the US, Hong Kong and several other countries, Japan has yet to make a decision regarding this financial product. However, as is clear from the statement, SBI Group and Franklin Templeton have no doubt that this will happen.
As regulations regarding digital assets and cryptocurrencies continue to evolve in Japan, the new joint venture will launch related products subject to approval from the country’s regulators, the US asset manager said.
In addition, financial giant SBI Group has already announced its desire to move into the Web3 space.
“We are proud to be a fast-growing financial group in Japan, using technology as one of the key sources of growth and promoting various types of Web3-related businesses. We look forward to partnering with Franklin Templeton, whose business is focused on digital assets and providing industry-leading digital asset processing technologies,” said SBI Holdings President and CEO Yoshitaka Kitao.
Franklin Templeton is one of the most prominent issuers of cryptocurrency ETFs. The company recently launched its US Ethereum Spot ETF and is already considering issuing a spot ETF based on Solana.