Japan approved its first new crypto exchange operator in four years under a regulatory regime that’s already scheduled to be replaced.
Laser Digital Japan, the Japanese arm of Nomura’s digital-asset subsidiary Laser Digital, completed registration as a crypto asset exchange service provider on 21 August, according to Japan’s Financial Services Agency registry.
The firm is listed under Kanto Local Finance Bureau Director No. 00032, with 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.
“Japan’s digital assets market is entering a new phase of maturity,” said Jez Mohideen, Laser Digital’s co-founder and CEO.
Why the Four-Year Gap
Binance Japan was the last operator added to the registry, after Binance acquiring the licensed local exchange Sakura Exchange Bitcoin in October 2022. Before that, Mercari’s crypto arm, Mercoin, registered in June 2022.
The FSA’s registry listed 27 crypto asset exchange service providers nationwide as of 21 August.
However, the time gap doesn’t reflect a moratorium. Japan’s registration process is among the most demanding globally, built around a checklist of more than 400 questions and typically taking months to complete.
It reviews everything from corporate structure and capital adequacy to custody arrangements, asset segregation, AML controls and cybersecurity.
Heightened scrutiny of custody and client-asset protection following the FTX collapse raised that bar further, making an aquisition of an already-registered Japanese operator a more common route for international players.
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Registered under Rules that Are about to Change
Laser Digital’s registration falls under the Payment Services Act, the framework currently governing crypto exchanges in Japan, which treats crypto assets primarily as payment instruments.
In July, Japan’s parliament passed legislation reclassifying crypto assets as financial products under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, bringing stricter oversight, including insider-trading rules, closer to how Japan regulates securities.
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; industry estimates point to around 2027.
The changes also pave the way for a flat 20% tax on qualifying crypto gains, down from a current top rate of 55%, expected to take effect as early as 1 January 2028.
Implementing rules have not yet defined how already-registered operators such as Laser Digital will transition to the new regime.
Part of a Broader Institutional Build-out
Laser Digital’s push into Japan sits alongside a broader institutional shift among the country’s largest financial groups.
SBI Holdings operates its own registered exchange, SBI VC Trade, and is building out stablecoin distribution alongside it. MUFG is developing its Progmat tokenisation platform and has tested on-chain repo transactions using Japanese government bonds.
SMBC and Mizuho are both participating in a joint megabank project on stablecoin settlement. Rather than competing for retail crypto trading volume, these groups are positioning around the infrastructure for tokenised finance.
Laser Digital’s registration adding Nomura’s institutional trading and asset-management capabilities to that framework.
Laser Digital’s Japan registration also extends a wider international push: the firm already operates through licensed entities in Switzerland, Dubai, Abu Dhabi Global Market and the UK, and in January applied to the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust bank charter, receiving preliminary conditional approval in May.
A 2026 survey by Nomura and Laser Digital found 65% of institutional investors in Japan view crypto assets as a diversification tool, and 79% plan to invest in the asset class within three years.
Laser Digital has not disclosed when it will launch institutional trading services or what the final product scope will cover.
