Nomura Subsidiary Breaks Four-Year Crypto Exchange Drought in Japan

Nomura's Laser Digital subsidiary has broken Japan's four-year crypto exchange licensing drought by securing a registration from the country's Financial Services Agency (FSA).

This marks the first time since October 2022 that a firm has cleared this hurdle, with Binance Japan being the last platform to achieve it.

Laser Digital CEO Jez Mohideen stated that 'Japan's digital assets market is entering a new phase of maturity' and that his company's registration approval represents an important moment for the industry.

The approval arrives at a pivotal time, with legislation passed in July reclassifying crypto assets as financial instruments under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA). This structural shift establishes the legal groundwork for potential crypto exchange-traded funds and a separate tax regime, with qualifying crypto gains to be taxed at a flat 20% rate from January 1, 2028.

Laser Digital Japan will initially focus on providing liquidity to domestic virtual asset service providers before offering institutional trading access.