Gumi is expanding further beyond mobile games with a three-year Bitcoin fund backed by SBI, Daiwa Securities and other investors.
Gumi, a Tokyo-listed Japanese developer best known for mobile games, is teaming up with SBI Financial Services to launch a ¥3 billion (roughly $18 million) crypto fund.
SBI Crypto Fund I will begin operating Aug. 1 and invest mainly in “Bitcoin and major altcoins,” according to a Tuesday announcement from Gumi. The firm also plans to use “staking, rebalancing, and hedging strategies, centered on listed crypto assets.”
Daiwa Securities Group, one of Japan’s largest brokerage groups, is among several outside investors backing the private fund. It will run for three years and won’t be offered directly to ordinary retail investors.
The fund’s operator, SBI Crypto Fund LLC, is owned 51% by SBI Financial Services and 49% by gC Labs, a wholly owned Gumi subsidiary.
Read also: Best Web3 Games 2026 Ranked for U.S. Players
Building a Record Before Crypto ETFs
Gumi said one purpose of the fund is to “establish a leading position in market formation” by accumulating a track record and “data through its operations.”
As of press time, Japan doesn’t allow domestic investment funds to offer spot crypto ETFs in the same way as markets such as the U.S. But Gumi said it wants to prepare for the possibility that those restrictions are eventually lifted.
Gumi entered blockchain in 2018 through an investment fund. Its first blockchain title tied to one of its franchises was Brave Frontier Heroes in January 2020, although that game was operated by portfolio company double jump.tokyo and combined its My Crypto Heroes system with Brave Frontier characters owned by Gumi subsidiary Alim.
Gumi then created a dedicated blockchain-game subsidiary in June 2022 and <a href="https://comicvibe.com/kamui-hes-behind-you-episode-5-story-preview-cuts-released/” title=”Kamui: He's Behind You Episode 5 Story & Preview Cuts Released”>released what it called its first own blockchain game, Phantom of the Kill: Alternative Imitation, in March 2024, an idle RPG where players could turn characters into NFTs and earn OSHI tokens.
