Japan moves closer to allowing venture capital firms and other investment funds to hold digital assets directly. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s administration agreed to submit a revised bill to implement the change.
The text of a bill seeks to partially amend the country’s industrial competitiveness enhancement act, according to a statement published on the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s website. The bill states that “measures will be taken to add cryptoassets to the list of assets that can be acquired and held by investment limited partnerships,” referring to a vehicle used by venture capital firms to secure capital for investments.
“Under Japanese rules up until now, VCs were not able to invest in crypto assets,” Hiro Kunimitsu, founder and CEO of Gumi Inc., wrote in an X post. Gumi is a Japanese game development firm that has launched its own blockchain investment fund, gumi Cryptos Capital.
Kunimitsu explained in his X post that Japanese crypto projects had to source capital from foreign venture capitals, which has been a huge obstacle for funding. “I think that the fact that Japanese VCs can now invest will be a big opportunity for many Web3 startups from Japan,” Kunimitsu said.
The government now plans to submit the bill for debate in the current session of the Diet, Japan’s parliament. Should the amendment be approved, the move would open up Japan’s investment sector to greater exposure in digital assets.
