ZIGChain has secured a strategic investment from Laser Digital, the digital-assets arm of Nomura Group, as the two companies work together to develop institutional-grade investment products onchain.
The partnership will also involve ZIG Markets, which operates as the product and access layer of the wider ZIGChain ecosystem. Laser Digital is expected to support the structuring of new products, establish risk frameworks and contribute to governance arrangements for a planned range of ZIG Markets vaults.
The companies said the initiative would focus on bringing private credit, PayFi, invoice financing, small-business funding and stablecoin-based services onchain for institutional investors and everyday users.
The financial details of the investment have not been disclosed. Neither company provided terms for the individual vault products or a timetable for reaching ZIGChain’s target of at least $100m in total value locked.
ZIG Markets’ role is to identify and develop financial opportunities in regional markets, with the partnership placing particular emphasis on emerging-market origination. The companies said the project was intended to provide access to new sources of investment rather than simply add another form of onchain yield.
Under the agreement, Laser Digital will combine its global asset-management experience with ZIG Markets’ regional origination capabilities. It will apply institutional risk standards and oversight to products connected to emerging-market private credit, while ZIGChain is positioning its network as infrastructure for onchain investment opportunities.
The planned product pipeline will include private credit and other forms of financing. Areas under consideration include PayFi, finance for small and medium-sized enterprises, invoice factoring and products supported by stablecoins.
The companies’ stated aim is to make investment categories that have traditionally been difficult to access at scale available through onchain infrastructure and formal risk controls.
The partners described onchain private credit as a major potential use case within a tokenised real-world assets market worth more than $30bn. They said global asset managers had become increasingly active in the sector, although credible institutional origination from emerging markets remained limited.
Abdul Rafay Gadit, co-founder and chief commercial officer of ZIGChain, said the sector needed to develop further if it was to attract greater institutional confidence.
“Our partnership with Laser Digital brings institutional governance, product expertise, and global best practices to our offering,” he said.
Gadit added that the collaboration could help make the planned products more accessible to banks, family offices and other investors.
Dr. Jez Mohideen, co-founder and chief executive of Laser Digital, said the risks involved in delivering onchain financial products had often been underestimated.
He said ZIG Markets offered regional expertise and an established origination record, while Laser Digital would bring the risk frameworks used across its wider business.
“The shared vision remains to make the next generation of asset management products accessible to those moving serious institutional capital,” Mohideen said.
The agreement follows a series of ZIGChain partnerships with Beehive, Taurus and ADI Foundation, as well as the company’s growing pipeline of real-world asset products across MENAP and other markets.
The first product created under the Laser Digital partnership is expected to launch in the coming months. The companies said they would publish further information as it approaches completion.
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