Komainu, the digital asset custody joint venture founded by Nomura, Coinshares and tech firm Ledger, has received its full operating license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). Last year it received the minimum viable product (MVP) license.
Apart from institutional custody, the license allows Komainu to provide institutional staking services and collateral management to customers within Dubai.
“We see tremendous opportunities to scale our business here amid a significant boom in assets driven by fund formation and exchange launches,” said Sebastian Widmann, Komainu’s Head of Strategy. “Dubai has a vibrant digital asset ecosystem and impressive talent pool, and we are proud to contribute to the growth of this innovative financial hub.”
Switzerland’s Laser Digital manages Nomura digital asset investments. It also received its VARA license at the start of the month.
The company was founded in Jersey (UK) in 2018 and went live in 2020. The following year it raised a $25 million Series A funding round, including Alan Howard of Elwood.
In early 2022 Komainu announced a new CEO, Matthew Chamberlain, the outgoing CEO of the London Metal Exchange. However, a few weeks later, the Russian invasion of Ukraine resulted in the suspension oftrading of nickel. So Chamberlain changed his mind.
Later in the year Nicolas Bertrand took on the CEO role. He was previously Head of Derivatives Markets and Commodities of Borsa Italiana.
