Laser Digital, the digital-asset unit of Japan’s largest investment bank Nomura, has become the first new entrant into the country’s crypto industry in four years after its local subsidiary secured registration as a crypto asset exchange service provider, the company announced Friday.
First new registration in four years
The firm will initially offer liquidity services to domestic virtual-asset service providers, with plans to expand into digital-asset trading for institutional investors at a later date. A launch date and the full scope of those services have not been announced.
Laser Digital began its regulatory journey in Japan in October 2025, when it first announced plans to apply for a crypto license in the country. The approval marks the culmination of roughly ten months of work with Japanese regulators and arrives just as the market enters a period of structural change.
Institutional demand on the rise
Japan reclassified cryptocurrencies as financial instruments in July, a structural shift that established the legal framework for potential crypto exchange-traded funds and separate taxation of crypto assets. The new rules are expected to take effect in 2027.
A 2026 survey by Nomura and Laser Digital found that 79% of institutional investors planned to invest in crypto assets within the next three years.
“Japan’s digital assets market is entering a new phase of maturity,” said Jez Mohideen, co-founder and CEO of Laser Digital. “As institutional investors increase their interest in this asset class, there remains a need for trusted counterparties and infrastructure designed specifically for their requirements.”
What it means for Japan’s market
Steve Ashley, co-founder and executive chairman, framed the timing as part of a broader global shift. “Sophisticated investors are increasingly looking for access and the necessary quality of infrastructure behind it,” he said.
The approval positions the Nomura-backed firm to serve the institutional wave it expects to follow once the financial-instruments framework takes effect, and could pressure domestic competitors to raise their own standards for custody and counterparty infrastructure. The registration also stands as a signal for other global banks weighing entry into Japan’s regulated crypto market, where the shift to a financial-instruments framework has raised the bar for compliance, custody and counterparty oversight once the new rules take effect in 2027.
