Today Nomura announced it has set up a digital asset subsidiary to target institutional clients, with plans to launch services later this year.
Offerings will cover cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other tokens.
“This is a major step forward as we look to scale-up our digital asset related businesses and investments,” said Steve Ashley, Chair of the new company and Head of Wholesale Division. “The new company will enable us to build an edge in providing institutional clients with access to a wide range of new products and services and contribute meaningfully towards responsible innovation in the digital asset ecosystem.”
Earlier this week, Nomura confirmed it was offering its clients the ability to trade OTC Bitcoin options. The news followed the creation of a digital subsidiary last month.
While Nomura has been ahead of the curve in building a security token issuance platform, BOOSTRY, other Japanese institutions have a bigger footprint.
SBI Group has several blockchain and cryptocurrency subsidiaries, as well as owning a minority stake in BOOSTRY. On the cryptocurrency front, SBI runs a crypto exchange, SBI VC Trade and Bitcoin mining pool, SBICrypto.com. Last year SBI acquired major crypto liquidity provider B2C2. In October 2021, it bought nanakusa, an NFT marketplace, and recently rebranded it to SBI NFT.
SBI Digital Asset Holdings was created to operate its various digital asset businesses. There are plans to launch a secondary market for security tokens, the Osaka Digital Exchange in which the country’s two biggest securities players, Nomura and Daiwa, have invested. In the meantime, SBI Securities has been active in some security token issuances that use MUFG’s Progmat blockchain platform.
MUFG’s Progmat platform competes with Nomura’s BOOSTRY. And Progmat is expanding beyond security tokens, providing a solution for multiple banks to issue stablecoins and utility tokens. In March, for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), MUFG partnered with Animoca Brands, the web3 gaming and metaverse leader.
