USDLaser Digital Wins Japan Crypto Registration After Four-Year Gap
Nomura subsidiary starts with liquidity services before expanding to institutional digital-asset trading
TL;DR
- Laser Digital received Japanese authorization as a Crypto Asset Exchange Service Provider on Aug. 21, 2026.
- The Nomura subsidiary will first provide liquidity to local crypto operators before offering direct trading to institutional investors.
- Japan is simultaneously moving crypto regulation toward its Financial Instruments and Exchange Act framework.
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Nomura Group’s digital-asset subsidiary Laser Digital received authorization on Aug. 21, 2026, to operate as a Crypto Asset Exchange Service Provider under Japan’s Payment Services Act, becoming the country’s first newly approved crypto exchange operator in roughly four years. The company plans to begin by supplying liquidity to existing local crypto service providers before expanding into direct digital-asset trading for Japanese institutional investors.
Laser Digital Japan completed its registration with the Kanto Local Finance Bureau under registration number 00032. The previous platform identified as receiving authorization from Japan’s Financial Services Agency was Binance Japan in October 2022, following a period in which stringent regulatory requirements had effectively limited the entry of new crypto-market participants.
Rather than immediately launching a retail-focused exchange, Laser Digital is taking an infrastructure-first approach. Its initial phase will provide liquidity to virtual asset service providers already operating in Japan, with the service intended to improve local market depth and facilitate execution of larger orders for institutional participants.
Laser Digital plans to follow that rollout by offering direct digital-asset trading to Japanese institutional investors. The company has not yet announced a specific launch date or the full scope of the planned institutional service.
Jez Mohideen, co-founder and CEO of Laser Digital, said Japan’s crypto market is entering a “new phase of maturity,” creating demand for “trusted counterparties and infrastructure” as “institutional investors increase their interest in this asset class.”
Registration Covers Six Crypto Assets
Laser Digital Japan’s registration covers six crypto assets included on the current list provided by Japan’s Financial Services Agency. The lineup centers on established, liquid assets consistent with an institutional strategy that places greater weight on risk control and regulatory compliance than on offering a broad selection of smaller cryptocurrencies.
A 2026 survey conducted by Nomura and Laser Digital among Japanese institutional investors also pointed to growing demand for digital assets among professional investors.
The surveyed investor group included asset-management firms, financial institutions and other professional investors. Their access to crypto depends on factors beyond asset prices, including counterparty risk, liquidity, custody and the regulatory status of the provider. Laser Digital can draw on infrastructure and risk-management practices developed around Nomura’s traditional capital-markets operations.
Japan Shifts Crypto Toward Financial-Market Regulation
Laser Digital’s approval comes as Japan restructures its regulatory treatment of digital assets. Japan’s parliament passed revisions in July 2026 that classify crypto assets as financial assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, moving their treatment closer to traditional financial products.
The revisions are designed to shift regulation of crypto transactions away from the Payment Services Act framework, where digital assets are primarily treated as payment instruments. The new structure introduces insider-trading rules, stronger oversight of crypto businesses and stricter market-conduct requirements while establishing a framework for broader participation by traditional financial institutions.
The amendments were promulgated on July 23, 2026. Their crypto provisions are scheduled to take effect on a date set by Cabinet order within one year of promulgation, allowing implementation by July 2027.
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama had signaled the policy direction in January 2026, indicating an intention to bring crypto under the same broader regulatory umbrella as traditional financial assets so citizens could “benefit from digital and blockchain-based assets.”
Laser Digital is therefore entering Japan under the existing Payment Services Act regime while the country prepares to move substantial parts of crypto-market regulation toward the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act framework.
Laser Digital Extends Its Institutional Crypto Business
Japan is not Laser Digital’s first institutional digital-asset market. The company operates across asset management, trading and investment and launched a “Bitcoin Adoption Fund” for institutional investors in 2023.
Its Japanese strategy begins with liquidity rather than direct institutional trading, allowing Laser Digital to establish relationships with local operators before expanding services to professional investors. The next stage will be the launch of direct access for Japanese institutions under the company’s regulated local structure.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
