Japan’s National Business Corporate Pension Fund will allocate approximately 1% of its ¥21.3 billion ($136 million) portfolio to cryptocurrency starting in fiscal 2026, marking a rare move for a domestic pension fund. The Okayama-based fund, which serves about 1,200 small and medium-sized enterprises and over 20,000 members, will invest through passive multi-asset funds managed by major hedge funds that track a basket of digital assets. The decision follows six years of internal research and aims to diversify currency risk while reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar.
The fund is reshaping its broader currency strategy. In fiscal 2025, allocations stood at 80% yen, 15% U.S. dollars, and 5% other currencies. For 2026, yen exposure drops to 70%, with a new 10% allocation to developed-market currencies and the remaining 5% split among emerging-market currencies, gold, and crypto. Aiyu Kiguchi, the fund’s executive director of investment, explained that the dollar could lose its reserve currency status and noted that Bitcoin has shown little correlation with the dollar index, making it a valuable diversification tool. Kiguchi emphasized that the fund views Bitcoin more as a currency hedge than as a speculative asset.
The pension fund’s research concluded that the crypto market has matured with a broadening investor base. It is also evaluating arbitrage-focused products that trade across multiple cryptocurrencies and may expand its crypto exposure further.
This move comes amid a wave of crypto-friendly regulatory changes in Japan. The Osaka Exchange, a subsidiary of Japan Exchange Group, plans to launch Bitcoin futures as early as 2028, contingent on the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs. Japan’s Financial Services Agency is targeting 2028 to revise investment trust rules, allowing funds to hold crypto as a “specified asset.” In April 2026, lawmakers submitted a bill to reclassify cryptocurrencies as financial instruments, which would slash the maximum tax rate on crypto gains from up to 55% to a flat 20%, matching the treatment of stocks. Major brokerages including SBI Securities, Rakuten Securities, Nomura, Daiwa, and SMBC Nikko are already preparing to offer crypto-linked investment products once regulations are clarified.
Analysts view the pension fund’s allocation as a significant milestone that could catalyze broader institutional participation, potentially influencing Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund—the world’s largest—to consider similar steps.
