Nomura's Laser Digital Japan Registers as Crypto Exchange Provider After Four-Year Gap

Nomura's Laser Digital Japan has registered as a crypto exchange provider after a four-year gap, according to its registration with the Kanto Local Finance Bureau. The initial asset scope covers Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Shiba Inu. Jez Mohideen, co-founder and CEO of Laser Digital, said 'Japan's digital assets market is entering a new phase of maturity.'

The registration comes as Japan's parliament passed legislation reclassifying crypto assets as financial products under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act in July. This change brings stricter oversight, including insider-trading rules, with the new framework's provisions set to take effect by 2027 at the latest.

Laser Digital Japan will initially focus on supplying liquidity to existing crypto asset exchange service providers before extending digital-asset trading services to institutional clients. Mohideen noted that there remains a need for 'trusted counterparties and infrastructure designed specifically for their requirements.'