T. Rowe Price Launches Multi-Token ETF as Citadel Bets Big on Crypto and Japan Rewrites Its Rules

Asset management giant T. Rowe Price, which oversees $1.9 trillion, has launched what it describes as the industry's first actively managed multi-token spot crypto ETF, offering investors diversified exposure across digital assets through a single regulated vehicle. The fund arrives as spot Bitcoin ETFs logged another day of net inflows on July 16, with U.S. products absorbing roughly 1,632 BTC worth approximately $105.1 million, while Ethereum ETFs added $44.19 million the same day.

In a separate deal reshaping the institutional landscape, Citadel Securities has committed $400 million to Crypto.com in the exchange's first institutional funding round, valuing the platform at $20 billion. The capital is earmarked for expansion into tokenized securities and derivatives, reinforcing the broader convergence of traditional finance and blockchain infrastructure. Bitcoin traded around $63,944 on Thursday, down roughly 1% on the day, as geopolitical tensions and a chip-sector selloff weighed on risk assets across markets.

Japan Reclassifies Crypto in Sweeping Legislative Overhaul

On the regulatory front, Japan passed a comprehensive crypto law that reclassifies Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and more than 100 other cryptocurrencies as financial instruments under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. The legislation simultaneously creates a legal pathway for spot crypto ETFs on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2027, establishes insider-trading prohibitions, and sets a timeline for a flat 20% capital gains tax rate to replace the current progressive system that can reach an effective rate of approximately 55%.

The scale of Japan's potential market is significant. The country holds approximately 14 million domestic crypto accounts, and roughly 70% of those holders carry less than ¥7 million in digital assets, a retail-heavy base that regulated ETF wrappers could open to far broader participation through conventional brokerage accounts. Analysts note that even a 1% allocation shift from Japan's approximately ¥2,000 trillion in household financial assets could represent close to $130 billion in potential inflows into eventual crypto ETF products. Back in Washington, a House Financial Services Committee field hearing on the CLARITY Act was scheduled for New York on July 17, the last realistic legislative window before the August congressional recess.