Laser Digital Cracks Japan's Four-Year Crypto Licensing Freeze 🇯🇵

Nomura Holdings' digital asset subsidiary Laser Digital has secured registration as a crypto asset exchange service provider under Japan's Payment Services Act, becoming the first firm to receive such authorization from the Financial Services Agency in four years. The registration, listed as Kanto Local Finance Bureau No. 00032, ends a licensing drought that began after Binance Japan was approved in October 2022. Laser Digital initially plans to provide liquidity services to domestic virtual asset service providers, supporting $BTC, $ETH, $XRP, $BCH, $LTC, and $SHIB, with institutional trading services for corporates, pension funds, and government-linked entities to follow at a later date.

Jez Mohideen, co-founder and CEO of Laser Digital, framed the approval as a turning point for the country's digital asset sector. "Japan's digital assets market is entering a new phase of maturity," Mohideen said in a Friday press release. "As institutional investors increase their interest in this asset class, there remains a need for trusted counterparties and infrastructure designed specifically for their requirements."

The approval lands alongside a broader rewrite of Japan's crypto rulebook. In July, Japan's parliament passed revisions reclassifying crypto assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, moving regulation away from the Payment Services Act framework that has historically treated digital assets primarily as payment instruments. The amendments, promulgated on July 23, will introduce insider trading rules and stronger oversight for crypto businesses, with the crypto provisions set to take effect on a date determined by Cabinet order within one year of promulgation.

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama had signaled the regulatory shift in January, stating the intent to bring crypto under the same umbrella as traditional finance assets so that citizens will "benefit from digital and blockchain-based assets."