Gumi and SBI Launch ¥3 Billion Crypto Fund

The joint venture, dubbed SBI Crypto Fund I, operates through a three-year silent partnership. SBI Financial Services holds a 51% stake in the operating entity, while Gumi’s subsidiary, gC Labs, controls the remaining 49%. While the companies originally eyed a 2025 start, they accelerated the timeline to begin active management of staking, hedging, and portfolio rebalancing.

For Gumi, the fund represents a strategic effort to build a performance record ahead of potential regulatory shifts in Japan. The company is positioning itself for the possible approval of domestic crypto exchange-traded funds, a prospect currently under discussion by the Financial Services Agency. Gumi’s balance sheet already reflects this pivot; by April, its crypto holdings reached ¥14.13 billion, an 86% increase from the previous year. This growth helped drive a ¥2.17 billion ordinary profit, despite a relatively thin ¥83.3 million operating profit. The firm currently utilizes XRP as a treasury asset and has previously signaled its intent to hold Bitcoin, though the new fund’s specific asset list remains undisclosed.