The Gumi SBI crypto fund is set to begin operations on 1 August, deploying approximately ¥3 billion (around $18.3 million) into Bitcoin and major listed altcoins through a Japanese silent partnership structure, according to a 28 July company announcement by Gumi Inc.
Inside the Gumi SBI Crypto Fund Structure
The vehicle, named SBI Crypto Fund I, will be managed by SBI Crypto Fund LLC and run as a private placement over a three-year term. SBI Financial Services holds 51% of the operating company; Gumi’s wholly owned subsidiary gC Labs holds the remaining 49%.
Per EdgeX, the fund will invest exclusively in Bitcoin and other major altcoins traded on recognised exchanges. Daiwa Securities Group and Yamada Securities Group are both participating investors, alongside several unnamed parties. Individual commitment sizes and target asset allocations were not disclosed.
The strategy will combine staking, portfolio rebalancing, and hedging. Custody providers, fee structure, and specific risk limits remain undisclosed. The partners had originally planned a 2025 start but delayed while assessing market conditions.
SBI’s crypto infrastructure lends institutional weight to the partnership. SBI VC Trade, an SBI Group entity, has surpassed 2 million registered accounts, according to EdgeX reporting on the launch.
Gumi’s Balance Sheet Is Already Deep in Crypto
Gumi’s crypto exposure has grown faster than the fund announcement alone suggests. The company held ¥14.13 billion in crypto assets as of 30 April 2026, up from ¥7.58 billion a year earlier, an 86% increase companywide, per its annual financial results.
A ¥2.63 billion valuation gain from crypto assets made a large contribution to Gumi’s ¥2.17 billion ordinary profit for the fiscal year. The company also recorded a ¥60.4 million loss from crypto sales, while operating profit fell to ¥83.3 million, underlining how dependent reported earnings have become on mark-to-market crypto moves.
Active since digital assets at least as far back as 2018, according to Cryptopolitan, Gumi has positioned XRP as a core treasury asset alongside Bitcoin. The company approved a ¥1 billion Bitcoin purchase previously and has stated it intends to become the largest XRP treasury company in Japan. Its crypto business also runs through Hinode Technologies, which handles portfolio management.
The Gumi SBI crypto fund fits inside a broader ambition: Gumi described the fund’s mission as aiming to ‘bridge the crypto asset market and Japanese companies’ through investment and liquidity provision. Performance data collected over the three-year term is intended to support research into future investment trusts and other managed products.
Japan’s ETF Timeline Is the Longer Play
Gumi said it wants to build a track record before the ‘possible lifting of the ban’ on domestic crypto exchange-traded funds. Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has discussed regulatory changes that could allow certain crypto ETFs, though investment-trust rules still need revision. A domestic Bitcoin ETF could arrive by 2028, per reporting on the regulatory process, though that date remains a reported possibility rather than an official deadline.
No retail product from Gumi or SBI has been announced or approved. For now, the confirmed structure is a three-year private fund with approximately ¥3 billion in committed capital, a first reporting date still to be set, and no disclosed return targets.
The first tangible read on portfolio construction, staking yields, or strategy drift will come only when Gumi, SBI, or the fund operator choose to disclose it.
