Key Takeaways
- Laser Digital won Japan license No. 00032, ending a roughly 4-year registration drought.
- Nomura’s unit starts with 6 crypto assets as Japan’s institutional market opens.
- Laser Digital faces its next test as Japan’s new crypto rules arrive in fiscal 2027.
Laser Digital Japan said this week that it completed registration as a Crypto Asset Exchange Service Provider under Japan’s Payment Services Act. The Kanto Local Finance Bureau lists the company as registration No. 00032, and it has joined the Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association.
Nomura Takes the Wholesale Route
Nomura is not using the license to chase retail traders with another crypto app. Laser Digital is starting where institutional desks need help, supplying liquidity to Japan’s licensed crypto firms so bigger orders can clear without ripping through thin order books.
Institutional trading for professional Japanese investors comes later, although Laser Digital has not pinned down a launch date or revealed its complete product lineup.
The license covers a wide variety of crypto assets like bitcoin, ethereum, XRP, bitcoin cash, litecoin and shiba inu. All six sit on the industry association’s “Green List,” clearing registered operators to offer them without grinding through separate regulatory filings for every token.
Steve Ashley, co-founder and executive chairman of Laser Digital, said the approval reflects growing demand from professional investors for regulated infrastructure.
The executive stated:
“As institutional appetite for digital assets grows across global markets, sophisticated investors are increasingly looking for access and the necessary quality of infrastructure behind it. This registration reflects our ability to meet regulatory requirements in Japan, building on the track record we have established in other markets.”
Japan’s 4-Year Crypto Drought Ends
The breakthrough carries weight because Japan has kept crypto operators on a short leash since the bitcoin exchange Mt Gox collapsed in 2014 and Coincheck was hacked in 2018. New registrations essentially dried up after 2022, making Nomura’s bank-affiliated operation a serious break from that pattern.
Japan’s guardrails remain unforgiving. Client assets must stay separated from company funds, at least 95% of customer crypto is expected to sit in offline cold storage, and annual audits verify those controls. The license does not cover crypto derivatives or let Laser Digital sponsor an exchange-traded fund.
Institutional Money Starts Testing the Door
Nomura’s own numbers show professional investors are warming up. A survey of 518 Japanese investment professionals found 31% were bullish on crypto’s one-year outlook, while 65% saw digital assets as a diversification play. Among respondents considering an allocation within three years, 79% planned to invest. The firm is also making headway in the United States.
The timing also puts Laser Digital ahead of Japan’s bigger regulatory reset. Lawmakers passed legislation July 15 to pull crypto deeper into the securities framework, with major provisions expected by fiscal 2027. Policymakers are also weighing tax changes and rules that could eventually unlock domestic spot crypto investment products.
For Nomura, license No. 00032 is the opening move, not the finish line. The real test is whether Laser Digital can turn wholesale liquidity into serious institutional volume before Japan’s next regulatory regime lands.
