Binance Japan expands business with PayPay as Buffett increases Japanese portfolio

Binance Japan has launched a new service for users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies using PayPay Money and PayPay Points, announced early Friday morning.

According to the crypto exchange’s Japanese affiliate, users within the country can now transact on Binance Japan’s spot trading platform on mobile and web to purchase digital assets directly using PayPay Money, the popular Japanese digital wallet service. 

New Binance Pay integration for Japanese users

Binance Japan’s feed says that the new service lets people trade 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with a minimum transaction of 1,000 yen. There are no fees for deposits; however, there is a small cost of 110 yen for withdrawals. PayPay’s upper limits are 1 million yen per day and 2 million yen every 30 days.

Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s founder, said on X that it will “make accessing crypto in Japan easier, and with lower fees,” while encouraging developers in the country to “build” with Binance.

Zhao also confirmed the new integration was in the pipeline months ago, but the deal took some time to materialize as “many things were going on in the background.”

To use the service on mobile devices, users must download the latest Binance Japan app versions iOS v3.6.2 or Android v3.6.4 or higher. Identity verification from both Binance Japan and PayPay is required. 

When using the product for the first time, traders need to click the “Add Assets” button on the app homepage and select “Purchase with PayPay” to enable account integration. The service applies solely to spot trading transactions and does not include order book exchanges or Simple Earn programs.

Japanese business and Warren Buffett holdings draw record inflows

Binance’s growth in Japan comes on the heels of Buffett’s interest in the country. According to a recent report from ASX ETF provider Global X, investors funneled a record $6 billion into ETFs in October, surpassing the previous high of $5.8 billion set in July. Total inflows for 2025 are on track to reach $50 billion, significantly exceeding the $31 billion record set in 2024.

During the month, Australian investors contributed $167 million into Japanese equities, amid a backdrop of bullish investor sentiments, institutional crypto interest, and corporate positioning from US companies like BlackRock and Berkshire Hathaway.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has also added its exposure to Japanese trading houses. The total value of the five major Japanese companies in which Berkshire holds stakes has climbed to $31 billion as of the end of October, an exponential increase from the initial $6.3 billion disclosed in 2020 during Buffett’s 90th birthday. 

The five companies in Berkshire’s Japanese portfolio are Itochu Corp., Marubeni Corp., Mitsubishi Corp., Mitsui & Co., and Sumitomo Corp. Mitsubishi reported in August that Berkshire’s stake increased to 10.2% from 9.7% earlier in March. 

Cryptopolitan has not found details on the other holdings, but the stakes in Itochu, Marubeni, and Sumitomo may also have exceeded 10%, owing to how Buffett’s company has been on an Asian market buying spree.

Buffett had told the companies at first that Berkshire would not own more than 10% of them without their approval. However, in his February shareholder letter, he noted that the firms agreed to “moderately relax the ceiling” for Berkshire’s ownership in all five companies to increase over time.

Crypto ETFs listings to start trade in Japan

Asian news outlet Nikkei said that SBI Holdings is working with US-based asset manager AllianceBernstein to start Japan’s first company that only manages actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs). SBI Holdings, which owns 51% of the joint venture, will be the main owner. The venture will start this year.

The new firm plans to debut an ETF on the Tokyo Stock Exchange next spring, based on a model developed by AllianceBernstein in the US. Its initial fund will target high-dividend American stocks in industries including technology, energy, and healthcare. 

SBI also intends to launch an ETF investing in Japanese equities by next summer for companies in media, telecommunications, and advanced technology. The venture has set its ambitions at managing 1 trillion yen ($6.3 billion) in active ETF assets within three years, a figure that would expand Japan’s current active ETF market more than tenfold.

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