- Japan’s financial giant Nomura launches Bitcoin adoption fund
- The Bitcoin Adoption Fund is offered by Laser Digital Asset Management, a subsidiary of $500 billion Nomura.
- Laser Digital’s new fund offers long-only exposure to Bitcoin (BTC).
Nomura, a $500 billion Japanese investment banking giant, has launched a new Bitcoin fund for institutional investors.
The new fund is an offering from Laser Digital Asset Management, a subsidiary of the Japanese financial behemoth and will offer institutions access to investment opportunities across the digital assets space.
Fund offers long-term exposure to BTC
Per details in a report by Bitcoin Magazine, the new fund is Laser Digital’s first product in a series of crypto investment solutions lined up for the growing market. Institutional investors will have access to long-only exposure to BTC.
Sebastian Guglietta, the head of Laser Digital, noted that with technology key to the world’s economic growth, the Bitcoin adoption fund will be a crucial transformational agent for investors. According to him, providing investors with a means to gain long-term exposure to the benchmark cryptocurrency ensures they are able to capture the current macro trend.
Laser Digital is headquartered in Switzerland and made one of its big forays into crypto via a strategic investment in Ethereum-based DeFi protocol Infinity. As CoinJournal reported, the investment happened in February this year. The company has also acquired regulatory approval as a virtual asset provider from Dubai’s regulatory agency.
As part of the Bitcoin offering, Laser Digital is collaborating with institutional-focused digital asset custody provider Komainu. The regulated company launched in 2018, founded by Nomura, crypto hardware wallet maker Ledger, and digital assets manager Coinshares.
Japanese brokerage giant Nomura Holdings has started offering Bitcoin derivatives to its institutional clients due to high demand. The decision comes just at a time when Bitcoin (BTC) has been going through a rough phase and is trading below $30,000.
Nomura shall be offering Bitcoin non-deliverable forwards and non-deliverable options settled in cash. Thus, its clients can start trading Bitcoin futures and options in the market.
As per the Bloomberg report, Nomura carried out the first trade earlier this week on CME Group Inc.’s platform. It has also partnered with market-maker Cumberland DRW LLC. Tim Albers, head of forex structuring in Asia ex-Japan, said:
There has been significant volatility recently. Once the dust settles, valuations will become more attractive for institutional clients. We’re pretty excited to get this off the ground” as the launch “marks the start of our journey into the space” for the global markets business.
Nomura’s Expansion in Crypto
Earlier this year, Japanese banking giant Nomura revealed its intensions to get into crypto. Acting on the same lines “tapping resources within its Singapore-based foreign exchange” for crypto expansion in global markets.
However, the decision to expand in global markets comes at a very critical time. The crypto market has eroded more than $300 billion of investors’ wealth over the last 45 days. As a result, crypto is likely to face growing scrutiny from policymakers across the globe.
On the other hand, the global macroeconomic conditions aren’t favorable to rypto investors. The Federal Reserve is likely to go aggressive with interest rate hikes this year to control the soaring inflation. At the same time, the chances of a recession in the U.S. are higher if it reports a second consecutive quarter of negative GDP.
“We expect the sector to mature over time, to become more regulated, which makes it more attractive for institutional investors,” Albers said. “As a result, volatility should reduce over time.”
The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.
Nomura Holdings, one of Japan’s largest wealth managers, said it will set up a new unit to look into digital assets including cryptocurrencies and NFTs, citing growing potential in the space.
The company said in a press release it was reorganizing its Future Innovation Company into a newly-established Digital Company, starting next month. The main goal of the new firm will be to increase adoption of digital assets, while also offering related services to clients.
Digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, security tokens, and non-fungible tokens are gaining presence as a new asset class. The fusion of innovations stemming from distributed ledger technology with traditional finance is giving rise to a new range of services.
Nomura, which has about 74 trillion yen ($641 billion) worth of assets under management, said it would also boost digital adoption across all of its subsidiaries.
Crypto adoption on the rise
Nomura’s announcement follows the recent launch of an NFT marketplace by ecommerce giant Rakuten, as more companies jump onto the increasingly lucrative crypto space. Japan’s crypto industry is worth about $1 trillion, according to Bloomberg.
Earlier in February, Japan’s largest bank, MUFG, had also introduced a stablecoin platform. But Japan has some of the world’s strictest regulations on crypto. While the country does recognize digital assets, its exchanges face intense scrutiny in gaining a license. Still, crypto adoption by major corporates has been a growing trend since 2021. Electric carmaker Tesla accepts dogecoin at its supercharger stations, and also allows the purchase of merchandise through the token. Recently, U.S. online marketplace Ebay said it could start accepting crypto payments by as soon as next week. The firm already allows NFTs to trade on its platform.
On a national scale, the Russian invasion of Ukraine saw Kyiv adopt crypto to receive donations, the first time a country has done so. Ukrainians also piled into stablecoin Tether as the central bank suspended electronic cash transfers. Ukraine also announced an airdrop for crypto donors on March 3.
Disclaimer
The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.
About Author
