Laser Digital Japan, the local subsidiary of Nomura’s digital asset unit, has received registration to operate as a crypto asset exchange service provider under Japan’s Payment Services Act. The approval, confirmed on August 21, marks the first new authorization of its kind in the country in four years.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency listed the firm among licensed operators. The previous registration of this type went to Binance Japan in October 2022. Laser Digital Japan is registered with the Director-General of the Kanto Local Finance Bureau under Registration No. 00032 and has joined the Japan Virtual and Crypto assets Exchange Association as a member.

Initial Focus on Liquidity Services

The company plans to begin by supplying liquidity to domestic virtual asset service providers. Trading access for institutional investors is scheduled to follow at a later stage, though no launch timeline or full service details have been released.

Laser Digital established its Tokyo office in October 2025 under Hideaki Kudo, a former Nomura executive who now serves as Representative Director and Head of Laser Digital Japan. Kudo described the approval as an important milestone in the firm’s roadmap to serve the Japanese market.

Broader Regulatory Shift Underway

The registration arrives as Japan advances major changes to crypto oversight. In July, parliament approved revisions that classify crypto assets as financial instruments under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. This moves regulation away from the Payment Services Act, where digital assets had been treated mainly as payment tools.

The amendments introduce insider trading rules and stronger supervision for crypto businesses. The new provisions are set to take effect on a date determined by Cabinet order within one year of their July 23 promulgation. Separate tax measures could lower the maximum rate on qualifying crypto gains to around 20 percent from as high as 55 percent, with those changes projected for January 2028.

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama had earlier indicated the government’s aim to place crypto under the same framework as traditional financial assets so that citizens can benefit from digital and blockchain-based assets.

Institutional Demand and Global Background

A 2026 institutional investor survey conducted jointly by Nomura and Laser Digital found that 65 percent of respondents view crypto assets as a means of portfolio diversification. About 79 percent said they intend to invest in the asset class over the next three years.

Nomura spun off Laser Digital in 2022. The Zurich-based firm has secured regulatory approvals in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where it became the first to offer over-the-counter crypto options in August 2025. In May 2026 it received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust bank charter, the first such step for a subsidiary of a Japanese financial institution.

The Japanese registration positions Laser Digital to support growing professional demand for digital assets while the country’s regulatory framework continues to evolve toward greater alignment with traditional finance.