Japan’s Regulator Signals Move Toward Allowing Crypto ETFs, Eyes 2028 as Earliest Target
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Japan’s FSA Proposes Tight Rules for Stablecoin Reserves Ahead of 2025 Payments Reform
Japan’s Financial Services Agency opened a consultation on draft rules that would restrict which foreign bonds can back regulated stablecoins and add new oversight for intermediaries. The proposals set high credit and issuance-size thresholds, mandate clearer customer disclosures from bank subsidiaries, and require assurances about foreign issuers’ activity in Japan, with the consultation closing Feb. 27, 2026.
UK Repositions Itself for Crypto Growth as Regulatory Clarity Nears
UK policy and market initiatives are converging to provide clearer legal status for digital assets and new operational paths for firms, with key regulatory milestones expected across 2026–2027. However, persistent banking and payments frictions — including industry reports of roughly 40% of transfers blocked or delayed and about £1bn of declined transactions — pose a material risk to on‑shore growth unless addressed alongside rulemaking.
Regulatory clarity and derivatives draw TradFi deeper into crypto
Panelists at Consensus Hong Kong said clearer rules and a new generation of derivatives and tokenized products are making crypto a credible institutional allocation. Regional rulemaking — from Hong Kong’s sequenced authorizations to U.S. custody guidance and Fed deliberations — plus product launches like stablecoin-rate futures are lowering practical barriers to TradFi involvement.
Hong Kong regulator clears path for institutional perpetual crypto contracts
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission will publish a high-level framework enabling regulated venues to offer perpetual futures and permitting broker credit facilities backed by bitcoin and ether, restricted to institutional counterparties and subject to strict market‑making separation and risk controls. The move sits alongside other Hong Kong initiatives — including planned stablecoin licensing and phased custody/OTC rulemaking — and regulators and industry groups are emphasising staged implementation and calibrated enforcement to preserve the city’s hub ambitions.
BlackRock executive says 1% crypto allocation across Asia could channel roughly $2 trillion into markets
At Consensus Hong Kong a BlackRock iShares head argued that a one-percentage-point crypto sleeve in Asia’s model portfolios could translate into nearly $2 trillion of demand; panelists at the event added that regulatory sequencing, exchange-grade derivatives and custody/settlement upgrades will determine whether that theoretical demand becomes durable institutional flows.

Thailand approves digital assets as underlyings for derivatives, reshaping institutional crypto access
Thailand's government has authorized the use of digital assets as eligible underlyings in its derivatives and capital markets, prompting the SEC to amend the Derivatives Act. Regulators aim to attract institutional liquidity and bolster oversight while preserving existing limits on crypto payments and consumer stablecoin use.
Regulatory Divergence: Europe Implements MiCA While U.S. Wrestles With Crypto Rules
The EU has moved MiCA from draft into phased enforcement, creating concrete licensing timetables and a pan‑EU authorization route that reduces cross‑border friction. By contrast, the U.S. remains enforcement‑driven with fragmented agency jurisdiction and stalled legislation, producing near‑term market uncertainty even as ETF inflows and spot-market demand support prices.
U.S. Tokenized Equities Surge Toward $1B After Regulatory Shifts
Tokenized shares swelled to roughly $963 million by January 2026, driven by an almost 2,900% year‑on‑year increase and concentrated issuance from a few platforms. Recent SEC guidance, a DTCC pilot and visible market moves—from broker-dealers to institutional custody strategies—have removed key legal and operational uncertainties, accelerating issuance while surfacing custody, throughput and interoperability risks.