Japan’s largest brokerage, Nomura, disclosed on January 30 that its crypto subsidiary, Laser Digital, posted losses within the October–December quarter. The agency has decreased cryptocurrency positions and tightened threat controls.
However simply two days earlier, that very same subsidiary had utilized for a US financial institution constitution. This isn’t a contradiction—it’s a sample.
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On January 27 in New York, Laser Digital filed an software with the US Workplace of the Comptroller of the Forex (OCC) to ascertain a federally chartered nationwide belief financial institution. The subsidiary desires to supply custody, spot buying and selling, and staking companies to American institutional shoppers. Steve Ashley, Laser Digital’s chairman, known as the US “the most important financial market globally.”
On the thirtieth in Tokyo, nevertheless, Chief Monetary Officer Hiroyuki Moriuchi instructed analysts at Nomura’s quarterly earnings name that the agency had “reduced its positions in cryptocurrencies” and was tightening threat controls. Laser Digital had posted losses within the October–December quarter, dragging down the group’s European outcomes.
The juxtaposition appears jarring. However a better look reveals this isn’t a sudden reversal—it’s a deliberate, recurring technique.
Not the First Time
This isn’t the primary quarter Laser Digital has dragged down Nomura’s European outcomes. In October 2025, Moriuchi acknowledged that “Laser Digital’s performance contributed to losses in the group’s European operations during the April–June quarter.” At the moment, Nomura’s response was to not retreat however to push ahead: Laser Digital was concurrently in pre-consultation talks with Japan’s Monetary Companies Company (FSA) to acquire a home crypto buying and selling license for institutional shoppers.
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The sample has now repeated. Losses within the October–December 2025 quarter have once more prompted tighter place administration, whereas the enlargement pipeline has solely accelerated.
The Two-Monitor Technique
Nomura seems to be operating two distinct operations below the Laser Digital umbrella. On one monitor, there may be the proprietary buying and selling guide—positions in cryptocurrencies which might be topic to market volatility and have generated losses in a number of quarters. “We have tightened our management of positions, as well as risk exposure, to curb short-term volatility in profit,” Moriuchi instructed analysts on January 30.
On the opposite monitor, there may be the infrastructure and licensing buildout—a long-term play that seems insulated from quarterly buying and selling outcomes. Take into account the timeline:
DateEventTrackSep 21, 2022Laser Digital Holdings AG included in Switzerland🔵 InfrastructureAug 1, 2023Full crypto enterprise license secured from Dubai VARA🔵 InfrastructureApr–Jun 2025Laser Digital contributes to losses in European operations🔴 Buying and selling lossAug 6, 2025First regulated OTC crypto derivatives license below VARA pilot framework🔵 InfrastructureOct 3, 2025FSA pre-consultation for Japan institutional buying and selling license disclosed🔵 InfrastructureOct–Dec 2025Laser Digital posts losses once more, triggering place discount🔴 Buying and selling lossJan 22, 2026Tokenized Bitcoin Diversified Yield Fund launched🔵 InfrastructureJan 28, 2026OCC nationwide belief financial institution constitution software filed within the US🔵 InfrastructureJan 30, 2026Losses and threat tightening introduced at earnings name🔴 Buying and selling lossSponsored
The message from Nomura’s management is obvious: buying and selling losses are a risk-management drawback; the institutional infrastructure buildout is a strategic crucial that doesn’t pause for unhealthy quarters.
Completely different Audiences, Completely different Messages
The obvious contradiction additionally displays the truth that Nomura is chatting with a number of audiences concurrently. The OCC software and FSA consultations are geared toward regulators and institutional shoppers, projecting confidence in crypto’s long-term position in finance.
Steve Ashley, Laser Digital’s chairman and co-founder, framed the US software in sweeping phrases: “The US is the most important financial market globally, and we believe the next chapter of digital finance will be written by firms that are prepared to operate at that level of scrutiny and permanence.”
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The earnings name, in contrast, is geared toward shareholders and analysts who need reassurance that short-term volatility is being managed. Moriuchi’s emphasis on “strict position management” and “reduced risk exposure” serves exactly that goal.
The Greater Image
Nomura shouldn’t be alone on this strategy. Japan’s second-largest brokerage, Daiwa Securities, started providing Bitcoin and Ethereum-backed yen loans in late 2025. Japan’s FSA is reportedly getting ready to permit crypto exchange-traded funds below the Funding Belief Act, with merchandise doubtlessly itemizing by 2028. Each Nomura and SBI Holdings have expressed curiosity in launching such funds.
A 2024 survey carried out by Nomura and Laser Digital discovered that greater than half of institutional traders anticipate to allocate to digital belongings inside three years, usually within the 2–5% vary of portfolios. For conventional brokerages going through stress on fee-based revenues from equities and bonds, the digital asset area represents each a diversification alternative and a aggressive necessity.
The paradox, then, is barely on the floor. Nomura shouldn’t be retreating from crypto—it’s recalibrating the way it takes threat within the area whereas accelerating the structural investments that may outline its place when the subsequent cycle arrives. Whether or not the licensing gamble pays off will rely on regulatory outcomes in Washington, Tokyo, and past. However one factor is obvious: Nomura has no intention of sitting on the sidelines.
