- One of Japan’s oldest banks, Nomura Holdings (NYSE:NMR), has entered the virtual assets market with the name Laser Digital.
- Laser Digital will focus on secondary trading, venture capital, and investor products.
- Nomura headquartered the business in Switzerland because of the existing robust regulatory regime for digital assets and blockchain projects.
Nomura Holdings, a major player in Japanese investment banking, is entering the virtual assets market and will introduce many new services and product lines in the upcoming months.
According to Nomura’s press release yesterday, the financial institution named its new digital assets business Laser Digital and incorporated the holding company Laser Digital Holdings AG in Switzerland.
Nomura noted that it chose Switzerland as the new business’s headquarters because it represents an established destination with a robust regulatory regime for digital assets and blockchain projects with an attractive talent pool.
Steven Ashley will run Laser Digital as Chairman and Jez Mohideen as the Chief Executive Officer. Over the coming months, the company will focus on three product lines: Secondary Trading, Venture Capital, and Investor Products.
With a focus on Decentralized Finance (DeFi), Centralized Finance (CeFi), Web3, and Blockchain architecture, Laser Venture Capital will be the first product to go live, investing in businesses within the digital ecosystem.
Speaking on the topic, Kentaro Okuda, Nomura Holdings CEO, said:
Staying at the forefront of digital innovation is a key priority for Nomura. This is why, alongside our efforts to diversify our business, we announced earlier this year that Nomura would set up a new subsidiary focused on digital assets.
Nomura is a global financial services group with an integrated network spanning over 30 countries and regions. By connecting markets East and West, Nomura services the needs of individuals, institutions, and governments through its three business divisions. The company has been in existence for 97 years.
Previously, Fidelity Digital Assets, Citadel Securities, and Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Corp. also collaborated on plans to build a cryptocurrency exchange that will serve both retail and institutional clients.
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