Nomura’s Laser Digital Japan Registers as Crypto Exchange Provider After Four-Year Gap: 13 outlets compared

Japan licenses Laser Digital

The registration lists Kanto Local Finance Bureau Director No. 00032 and gives Laser Digital Japan an initial asset scope covering bitcoin, ether, XRP, bitcoin cash, litecoin and shiba inu.

Laser Digital Japan said it will initially focus on supplying liquidity to Japan’s existing crypto asset exchange service providers before extending digital-asset trading services to institutional clients at a later stage.

Jez Mohideen, Laser Digital’s co-founder and CEO, said, “Japan’s digital assets market is entering a new phase of maturity,” as the approval ends a four-year gap since the last operator added to the registry.

The FSA registry listed 27 crypto asset exchange service providers nationwide as of 21 August, and the time gap was described as reflecting a demanding registration process built around a checklist of more than 400 questions.

Regime shift and taxes

The Laser Digital Japan approval lands as Japan’s parliament passed legislation in July reclassifying crypto assets as financial products under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, bringing stricter oversight including insider-trading rules.

The new framework’s crypto provisions take effect on a date to be set by Cabinet Order, no later than one year after the legislation’s 23 July promulgation, with industry estimates pointing to around 2027.