Nomura’s Laser Digital Gets Japan’s First New Crypto Exchange License Since 2022

Japan’s Financial Services Agency has authorized Laser Digital, the digital-asset arm of Nomura Group, to operate as a crypto asset exchange service provider — the first new exchange license the regulator has issued in four years. The FSA disclosed the registration on a list published Friday, marking the first authorization since Binance Japan received its license in October 2022.

The gap of nearly four years between new licenses underscores how selective Japan’s crypto licensing regime has remained even as trading activity and institutional interest have grown. Laser Digital’s approval under the Payment Services Act (PSA) gives Nomura’s crypto unit a regulated foothold in one of Asia’s most tightly supervised digital-asset markets.

Domestic liquidity first, institutional trading next

Laser Digital Japan plans to initially supply domestic liquidity to local crypto providers before expanding into institutional crypto trading services, according to the company. Jez Mohideen, co-founder and CEO of Laser Digital, said Japan’s crypto market is entering a “new phase of maturity,” which is creating demand for “trusted counterparties and infrastructure” as “institutional investors increase their interest in this asset class.”

The licensing timeline matters for investors tracking institutional access points into Japanese crypto markets: with only two FSA-authorized exchange launches in four years, Laser Digital’s entry signals a narrow but potentially significant new channel for regulated liquidity, backed by one of Japan’s largest financial groups.

Regulatory overhaul already in motion

The approval arrives as Japan restructures its entire crypto oversight framework. In July, Japan’s parliament passed revisions reclassifying crypto assets as financial assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA), shifting regulation away from the PSA, where digital assets are currently treated primarily as payment instruments.

The revised law will introduce insider-trading rules and stronger oversight requirements for crypto businesses. The new crypto provisions are set to take effect on a date determined by Cabinet order, within one year of the amendments’ July 23 promulgation date.

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama signaled in January the government’s intent to bring crypto regulation in line with traditional finance assets, saying the goal is to ensure citizens “benefit from digital and blockchain-based assets.”

Why it matters for holders and traders

For crypto holders and institutional allocators watching Japan, the Laser Digital license is a concrete data point showing the FSA is willing to expand the licensed exchange roster just as the country moves toward a stricter, securities-style regulatory regime under FIEA. A new, bank-backed exchange entering the market ahead of that transition could widen access to regulated liquidity for both domestic and institutional participants once the FIEA provisions take effect.

Traders should note that Laser Digital’s initial mandate is domestic liquidity provision rather than direct retail trading, meaning the immediate market impact is likely to be structural — deeper local order books and counterparty options — rather than an instant driver of price action across major tokens.

Sources

• cointelegraph.com
• coindesk.com