Nomura’s Laser Digital Clears Japan’s Regulatory Hurdle

The subsidiary will initially focus on supplying liquidity to domestic virtual-asset service providers. While the firm has not yet disclosed a timeline for expanding into full-scale institutional trading, the registration grants it a regulated foothold in a market where appetite for digital assets is surging. Research conducted by Nomura and Laser Digital indicates that 79% of surveyed professional investors plan to increase their exposure to the sector within the next three years.

This approval follows a period of legislative transition in Japan. New laws passed in July 2024 reclassify digital assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, moving them away from the Payment Services Act. This shift introduces stricter insider-trading rules and aligns crypto taxation more closely with traditional financial products, with full implementation expected by 2027. Laser Digital CEO Jez Mohideen noted that the market is reaching a new phase of maturity, necessitating the type of trusted infrastructure his firm aims to provide as Japanese regulators move toward potentially allowing spot crypto ETFs.