Japan’s Bitcoin ETF: Feasibility and Hurdles to Overcome at WebX 2025

Will Japan launch its first Bitcoin ETF? At WebX 2025, industry leaders debated the feasibility of this move, facing key challenges like regulatory barriers and market competition. Despite strong institutional demand for crypto exposure through ETFs, Japan’s investment trust framework restricts cryptocurrency-based ETFs. Key hurdles include: custody risk due to lack of clear liability frameworks for holding crypto assets, potential tax discrepancies between ETF taxation and spot trading, and the need for legislative reform to classify Bitcoin as a