Japan’s largest investment bank, Nomura, through its subsidiary Laser Digital Asset Management, has launched a Bitcoin Adoption Fund that will offer Bitcoin exposure to institutional investors.
According to the official announcement, the Bitcoin-based fund will be the first in a series of digital adoption investment solutions the company intends to launch.
Nomura, a Japanese financial behemoth with over $500 billion in assets, provides brokerage services to the world’s most prominent institutional investors. The Bitcoin fund launched by its digital asset division will now give investors direct Bitcoin exposure.
The Laser Digital Bitcoin Adoption Fund offers only long Bitcoin exposure. The financial powerhouse has selected Komainu as its regulated custody partner. The Bitcoin Fund is a portion of Laser Digital Funds Segregated Portfolio Company registered with the Cayman Islands Regulatory Authority as a mutual fund.
Sebastian Gugliet, the president of Laser Digital Asset Management, stated that Bitcoin is one of the enablers of this long-lasting transformational change and that long-term exposure to Bitcoin offers investors a way to capture this macro trend.
The Bitcoin adoption fund may be the first launched by Nomura and its digital asset subsidiary. Still, the Japanese investment banking behemoth has invested in the digital asset ecosystem for a considerable time.
The company established its digital asset venture capital arm in September 2022 to remain at the forefront of digital innovation. In August of this year, Nomura’s crypto subsidiary Laser Digital also received a license to operate in Dubai from the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA).
The long-awaited Bitcoin Adoption fund for Japanese investors arrives amid a growing discussion surrounding Bitcoin-based investment products offered by regulated and conventional financial institutions.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission authorized two Bitcoin-based futures ETFs despite a pending decision on Bitcoin spot ETFs. Canada and Europe have also approved several Bitocin-focused investment products in recent years.
