Nomura-Backed Laser Digital Wins Japan’s First Crypto Exchange Approval in Four Years
Japan ended a four-year pause on new crypto exchange registrations by approving the Nomura-backed firm, which plans to start with domestic liquidity before institutional trading.
Laser Digital, the digital asset arm of Japan’s Nomura Group, has secured authorization to operate as a crypto asset exchange service provider under the country’s Payment Services Act. It is the first platform cleared by Japan’s Financial Services Agency in roughly four years.
An FSA list published Friday added Laser Digital as a newly approved operator. The last platform to win FSA authorization before it was Binance Japan in October 2022.
Phase one is narrow. Laser Digital will supply domestic liquidity to crypto providers. Institutional crypto trading services come later, though the company gave no launch date for that second phase. Cointelegraph reported the phased rollout on Friday.
Jez Mohideen, co-founder and CEO of Laser Digital, said in a Friday press release that Japan’s crypto market is entering a “new phase of maturity,” creating a need for “trusted counterparties and infrastructure” as “institutional investors increase their interest in this asset class.”
That framing tracks a broader regulatory shift. Japan’s parliament passed revisions in July that classify crypto assets as financial assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA), moving oversight away from the Payment Services Act, where digital assets are currently treated primarily as payment instruments.
The amendments also bring insider trading rules and stronger oversight for crypto businesses. Token markets, in practice, would face requirements closer to those governing securities.
Those crypto provisions take effect on a date set by Cabinet order within one year of the amendments’ July 23 promulgation. Until then, Laser Digital and other operators remain under the Payment Services Act framework.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama signaled the intent to fold crypto into the traditional finance umbrella in January, saying the move would let citizens “benefit from digital and blockchain-based assets.”
The approval breaks a quiet stretch for Japan’s crypto licensing pipeline. Whether it signals a reopening or is a one-off clearance is not yet clear. The FSA has not indicated any broader shift in approval pace.
Traders, as ever, will watch for the Cabinet order date.
