Nomura, one of Japan’s largest investment banks, has established a venture capital arm that aims to invest in companies that focus on crypto and blockchain.
In Wednesday’s announcement, Nomura said the business, named Laser Digital, will “provide new value in the area of digital assets” to clients under Switzerland-based Laser Digital Holdings AG. The investment bank said it chose Switzerland because of its “strong regulatory framework for digital assets and blockchain projects,” in addition to recruiting talent.
“Staying at the forefront of digital innovation is a key priority for Nomura,” said Kentaro Okuda, president and group executive of Nomura Holdings.
Laser Digital focuses on investments including venture capital production, laser venture capital, decentralized finance, decentralized finance, Web3 and blockchain infrastructure. Laser Digital said it plans to announce additional products and services “in the coming months” for secondary commercial and investor products.
Related: Japan plans to implement tax reforms to prevent capital flight of crypto startups.
Nomura Holdings, one of the largest banks in Japan, had total assets under management of $454.8 billion as of June 2022 at current exchange rates with the historically weak yen. Cointelegraph reported in May that Nomura plans to launch a crypto subsidiary aimed at making investments in crypto and nonfungible tokens until it can find local talent outside of Japan with a board of directors made up of Japanese transplants.