Nomura-Backed Laser Digital Breaks Japan's Crypto Exchange Drought

Nomura Holdings-backed Laser Digital Japan has secured registration as a Crypto Asset Exchange Service Provider in Japan, becoming the country's first new crypto exchange in four years since 2022. The approval marks a significant shift in Japan's regulatory stance on cryptocurrencies, which had been frozen after a wave of exchange scandals in the early 2020s.

Laser Digital Japan will initially provide liquidity services to domestic virtual asset service providers (VASPs), aiming to increase order-book liquidity and tighten spreads for Japanese market participants. The firm plans to expand its services to institutional trading, targeting corporates, pension funds, and government-linked entities.

The registration is a significant milestone in Japan's crypto development, as the country rewrites its rulebook from scratch. The firm has already demonstrated its global compliance track record, holding a VARA licence in Dubai, operating in Switzerland, and receiving conditional OCC trust bank approval in the United States.