Reported November 10, 2026, at 18:14 (UTC+8). Citing CoinPost, PANews reported that Japan’s Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) had applied to the Tokyo District Court for an injunction against three firms operating without registration—4CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, Shibata Research Institute and Ando Research Institute—and their three representatives. The report describes an application, not a court order already granted.
According to the SESC, the firms marketed overseas investment products associated with the U.S.-based Investors Trust (ITA) group between February 2021 and February 2026. They raised approximately ¥4.9 billion from 2,141 investor instances and claimed the products could invest in spot Bitcoin ETFs. That ETF access was a claim made in the marketing, not a feature independently established by the report.
The SESC also said Ando Research Institute sold privately placed bonds without registration, raising approximately ¥2.5 billion. Japan’s Financial Services Agency added the three firms to its list of unregistered operators on November 10, 2026.