Bloomberg: Nomura weighs potential divestment of Laser Digital crypto division
Laser Digital's possible divestment arrives as Nomura's European division records its fourth consecutive quarterly deficit.
Japan's banking and financial services powerhouse Nomura Holdings is exploring options to divest its digital currency arm Laser Digital amid persistent financial setbacks in its European division, according to recent reports.
According to Bloomberg's Wednesday report, Nomura has engaged in discussions with prospective purchasers, with Marex Group among those involved. The financial institution has not reached a definitive conclusion and may ultimately choose to retain ownership of the business unit.
For the quarter that concluded on Sept. 30, 2026, Nomura's European operations recorded a pretax deficit of 7.4 billion yen ($46.5 million), marking the fourth straight quarter of losses. During this identical timeframe, the company achieved pretax profitability across all other geographic reporting segments. Nomura has not publicly revealed whether Laser Digital, which maintains its headquarters in Switzerland, factored into the European division's financial performance.
As one of Japan's premier financial services organizations, Nomura's investment management arm maintained oversight of 152.8 trillion yen ($960 billion) in assets under management as of September 2026.
The consideration of a sale emerges barely three months following Laser Digital Japan's acquisition of Japan's first newly issued crypto exchange license in a four-year span, which enabled the company to broaden its institutional cryptocurrency trading offerings within the Japanese market.
Founded in 2022, Laser Digital delivers institutional-grade cryptocurrency trading services, asset management solutions and venture capital investment capabilities. The firm has additionally sought growth opportunities in the United States market, obtaining conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for its planned national trust bank in May.
In remarks made during a January earnings call, chief financial officer Hiroyuki Moriuchi indicated the company's intention to scale back its cryptocurrency trading positions as a means to mitigate short-term market volatility while simultaneously pursuing Laser Digital's expansion from a medium to long-term strategic perspective.