Japanese companies are rushing to acquire Bitcoin as an institutional treasury asset, with massive purchases of BTC and the development of mining projects.
These moves indicate that Japan is reasserting itself as one of the most important countries in the global crypto economy. The main motivation is to protect balance sheets from inflation and currency weakening, with companies also acting independently of government policies.
Big Companies Invest in Bitcoin
Tokyo-based crypto media company Metaplanet Inc. has one of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin corporate treasuries, with 17,595 BTC as of 4 August 2025. The Tokyo-based holding company's balance sheet is now largely composed of Bitcoin, and the company was recently ranked as the seventh largest corporate holder of Bitcoin in the world.
Convano, a chain of beauty and cosmetics salons, has set a Bitcoin investment target of 21,000 BTC by March 2027. In July, the company opened the Bitcoin Strategy Office and purchased BTC worth $2.7 million. The retail company Mac-House announced it will change its name to Gyet Co., Ltd. in September and shift the focus of the business to cryptocurrencies. It also plans to buy Bitcoin for $160 million and has earmarked $113 million to invest in mining projects.
Kitabo, a historic textile company founded in 1881, said it will buy Bitcoin every day with a budget of $5.4 million. The board of Toho Remac approved a plan to buy up to 1 billion yen ($6.8 million) in Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH). The first purchase has already been made.
ETFs on the way
Japan's financial regulator is considering reclassifying cryptocurrencies from "means of payment" to "financial products". This would lead to the launch of the first Bitcoin ETFs in the country and a reduction in taxes on income from crypto.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said the sector needs clear treatment from a tax perspective, "because, after all, these are not instruments that people use as payment." The change in the tax code could reduce the maximum tax rate on crypto income from 55% to 20%, the same level as taxation on stock trading.
Japan's leading broker, SBI Holdings, has applied for two ETFs: one that replicates gold and digital assets and another spot ETF on Bitcoin and XRP. Speaking to Bloomberg News, Kato said the government "views cryptocurrencies as an investment asset, not just a means of payment."
Convano will also begin mining operations starting in October 2025, using sites in Texas and Georgia powered by renewable energy. Gyet Co., Ltd. will start its own mining operations in September and plans to invest more than 10 billion yen in new machines.
Japan's Crypto Rebirth
Japan has always maintained a strong institutional interest in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. In the past, Japanese users transacted over 70% of all global Bitcoin volumes on Mt. Gox in 2014, before the exchange's collapse. Today, the country has more than 12 million crypto trading accounts, totalling 5 trillion yen ($34 billion) in digital assets.
"Japan is a pioneer in Web3 regulation," Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said in 2023 on the platform's return to Japan. "We are happy to offer services in a clear and robust regulatory environment."
If ETFs were approved for trading in Japan, they would likely bring an additional inflow of global liquidity. They would also create a regulated and protected channel for Japanese investors to access the digital asset class, further increasing Japan's influence in the crypto sector.
