Nomura Subsidiary Obtains Japan's First Crypto License in Four Years
Nomura Holdings' digital asset subsidiary Laser Digital's Japanese entity, Laser Digital Japan, has completed its registration as a crypto asset exchange operator, becoming the first new entrant in Japan in nearly four years.
The company has been authorized as a crypto asset exchange service provider under the Payment Services Act, with registration number 00032 from the Kanto Financial Bureau. Initially, it will provide institutional liquidity solutions to domestic virtual asset service providers, with plans to launch institutional trading services in the future.
This registration marks the first new approval in Japan's digital asset industry since 2022. Over the past four years, Japan has implemented significant regulatory reforms, including those related to stablecoins, with institutional investors increasingly viewing digital assets as tools for portfolio diversification.
Laser Digital Japan was established in October 2023 with a capital of 100 million yen and has joined the Japan Crypto Asset Exchange Association. Tradable assets include Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Shiba Inu.
A Nomura survey indicates that 65% of respondents view crypto assets as diversification opportunities, with nearly 79% planning to invest within the next three years.
In terms of market mechanisms, institutional funds will enter existing exchange liquidity supply through the newly registered entity, representing a regulatory-driven entry. The flow of funds will benefit compliant wholesale liquidity and subsequent institutional trading, while existing domestic service providers and Laser Digital will benefit, putting pressure on the competitive landscape that has seen no new entrants for a long time.
Supplementary data shows that the company has established a global presence in trading, asset management, and venture capital, and has received preliminary conditional approval for a national trust bank license in the United States.
Source: Public Information
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Nomura Group established Laser Digital in Switzerland in 2022 as its digital asset business arm, subsequently obtaining a full crypto license in Dubai and launching a Bitcoin adoption fund and an institutional Bitcoin yield fund. The Japanese entity completed its registration after about 10 months of regulatory dialogue since its establishment in 2023.
In terms of capital pathways, funds and resources from global trading and asset management capabilities are being injected into Japan's wholesale liquidity services, motivated by the rising institutional demand for digital asset diversification and the market window following stablecoin reforms, initially entering through liquidity supply before expanding into trading, thus avoiding the high barriers of directly targeting retail.
Similar cases can be seen with Japanese financial institutions like SBI and Mizuho entering crypto through joint ventures or subsidiaries, as well as Binance Japan becoming the last registrant in the previous round in 2022. We are currently in a phase of strict regulation where new entrants are being opened up for the first time after a long hiatus, accelerating institutionalization.
The structural judgment belongs to regulatory changes: after a four-year gap, new entities are approved, with mechanisms in place to reduce regulatory concerns as stablecoin and institutional demand mature, allowing traditional brokers to enter the wholesale segment through subsidiaries, accelerating the concentration of liquidity from retail exchanges to institutional channels.
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- The longer the regulatory gap, the higher the premium for the first entrant.
- Liquidity precedes the landing of trading licenses.
- Institutional demand determines the pace of entry.