Nomura-backed Laser Digital has become Japan’s first newly registered crypto asset exchange service provider in about four years, securing regulatory approval as the country prepares to bring digital assets under a financial-instruments framework.
The company said its Japanese subsidiary had completed registration and would initially provide liquidity to domestic virtual-asset service providers. It is also considering offering trading services to institutional investors, although no launch date or full list of services has been announced.
The registration gives Laser Digital a regulated route into Japan’s expanding digital-asset market, where interest from professional investors has been growing. Research by Nomura and Laser Digital found that 79% of respondents planned to invest in crypto assets within the next three years, according to a 2026 survey.
Laser Digital said the findings supported its plans to develop services for professional investors in Japan.
The approval follows months of work by the Nomura subsidiary to establish a regulated trading operation for institutional clients. In October 2025, crypto.news reported that Laser Digital planned to seek a Japanese crypto trading licence after holding preliminary discussions with the Financial Services Agency.
At that stage, the company was considering broker-dealer services for traditional financial institutions, crypto companies and digital-asset exchanges operating in Japan.
Those plans have now progressed to the registration stage, although the company’s immediate priority will be providing liquidity to locally registered crypto businesses. Institutional trading services are expected to come later, depending on the final structure of the business and its launch timetable.
Wider expansion in digital assets
Nomura established Laser Digital in 2022 as the investment bank expanded its presence in digital assets. The business has since developed activities in asset management, trading and venture investment, while its Japanese subsidiary worked towards creating a regulated domestic operation.
The company received a full crypto business licence in Dubai in 2023. It has also introduced investment products focused on Bitcoin and Ethereum for institutional investors.
Laser Digital’s plans for Japan have extended beyond exchange services. During earlier licensing discussions, it explored yen- and dollar-pegged stablecoins with GMO Internet Group. The proposed work included regulatory support, blockchain infrastructure and backend operations.
Jez Mohideen, co-founder and CEO of Laser Digital, said the Japanese market was entering “a new phase of maturity” as professional investors increased their exposure to digital assets.
The company’s registration comes soon after Japan completed legislation changing the way cryptocurrencies are treated under financial law.
Japan passed its crypto law in July, classifying digital assets as financial products under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. The legislation creates a separate legal category for crypto assets alongside products such as shares and bonds.
Previously, cryptocurrencies had been regulated mainly under the Payment Services Act.
The amended framework will introduce insider-trading restrictions for crypto transactions and annual disclosure requirements for issuers of certain digital assets. Penalties for businesses operating without registration will also increase once the rules are implemented.
The legislation creates a legal basis for changing the taxation of crypto gains. At present, individual profits from crypto assets are treated as miscellaneous income in Japan, with rates that can reach about 55%. Under the planned system, qualifying gains could instead be subject to separate taxation at an effective rate of about 20%.
Tax provisions are expected to take effect in January 2028 because enforcement is scheduled during Japan’s 2027 fiscal year, according to CoinPost reporting cited in July coverage. The amended financial law itself is expected to come into force within one year of promulgation, with cabinet ordinances and supervisory guidelines to define the detailed requirements.
Japan’s revised rules also provide the legal foundation for domestic spot crypto exchange-traded funds. The Japan Exchange Group has been considering local crypto ETF listings as early as 2027, although spot Bitcoin ETFs have not yet been approved.
Financial groups prepare for new products
Traditional financial institutions had already been preparing for potential crypto investment products before the legislation was completed.
By May, major Japanese brokerage groups including SBI, Rakuten and Nomura were developing or studying crypto investment trust products as regulators worked on rules that would allow funds to hold digital assets.
SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities were developing products internally. Nomura, Daiwa and companies linked to SMBC and Mizuho were also examining similar offerings.
The proposed investment trusts could enable Japanese investors to gain exposure to crypto assets through conventional securities accounts once the regulatory requirements are completed. Japan’s wider roadmap has also included plans that could eventually allow investment trusts and ETFs to hold assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Laser Digital has already created products aimed at institutional demand outside its Japanese exchange operation. Nomura launched the unit’s Bitcoin Adoption Fund in 2023, offering institutional investors long-only exposure to Bitcoin, and later introduced other digital-asset investment products.
The company has also expanded into tokenised finance through projects involving institutional funds and blockchain infrastructure. Its operations now cover regulated trading, asset management and tokenised products within the wider digital-asset business.
For Laser Digital’s Japanese subsidiary, however, the immediate task is to provide liquidity to registered domestic crypto firms. The company said it would announce further details about the timetable and scope of any institutional trading services at a later date.
Steve Ashley, co-founder and executive chairman of Laser Digital, said professional investors around the world were increasingly seeking access to digital assets, together with infrastructure capable of supporting institutional trading.
