Japanese financial services group Nomura Holdings has established a new digital assets business in Switzerland called Laser Digital, with Steven Ashley as Chairman and Jez Mohideen as CEO.

According to the company, Switzerland was selected as the location for the new entity given its robust digital assets and blockchain regulatory regime and attractive talent pool.

Laser Digital will announce new services and product lines in the coming months focusing on three core areas: secondary trading, venture capital and investor products.

The first product to launch will be Laser Venture Capital, which will invest in companies working in decentralised finance (DeFi), centralised finance (CeFi), web3 and blockchain infrastructure.

Kentaro Okuda

Kentaro Okuda, President and Group CEO of Nomura Holdings, said:

“Staying at the forefront of digital innovation is a key priority for Nomura. This is why, alongside our efforts to diversify our business, we announced earlier this year that Nomura would be setting up a new subsidiary focused on digital assets.

We look forward to sustainable growth in this new business under the leadership of Steven and Jez.“

Steven Ashley

Steven Ashley, Chairman of Laser Digital, said:

“The new company will enable us to build an edge in providing institutional clients with access to a wide range of new products and services and contribute meaningfully towards responsible innovation in the digital asset ecosystem.”