Nomura's crypto arm expands to Japan with new office

Laser Digital, the crypto unit of Japanese banking giant Nomura, has expanded to Japan with a new office in Tokyo.

The firm also named Hideaki Kudo as the new office's representative director and head. Kudo has been with the Nomura Group since 2007. In his latest role, Kudo was an executive director at Nomura's Digital Company, responsible for its digital asset strategy, including projects such as developing security tokens for Nomura Group and launching the first real estate security token offering in Japan. Before his role at the Digital Company, he was a senior portfolio manager at Nomura Asset Management. 

"To optimize support of our trading business we wanted to have 24/7 operational management, so for coverage in the far east Japan was obviously our top choice," Steven Ashley, co-founder of Laser Digital, said in a statement. Laser Digital is headquartered in Switzerland and also has offices in London and Dubai. 

Nomura's Laser Digital

Laser Digital was launched last year to focus on three core areas: venture capital, asset management and trading. Laser Venture Capital has already invested in over ten crypto startups to date, including Orderly Network, WebN Group and Infinity Exchange, according to The Block Pro's Deals Dashboard.

Last month, Laser Digital launched its asset management business with a "long-only" bitcoin exposure fund. In June, Laser Digital acquired Elysium Technology Group to provide post-trade solutions for over-the-counter foreign exchange and digital assets.

Laser Digital's Dubai entity also recently received operating license approval from the city's Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority. The full license will allow Laser Digital to provide crypto broker-dealer and asset management services from its Dubai entity.