Nomura reportedly explores sale of crypto unit Laser Digital

What happened

Nomura Holdings is reviewing whether to sell Laser Digital, its Switzerland-based crypto subsidiary, after approaching prospective buyers, Bloomberg reported on Nov. 11. People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Marex Group is among the companies evaluating a possible acquisition. The discussions were described as preliminary. According to the report, Nomura has not made a final decision and may decide to keep the business. Cointelegraph and Crypto.news both covered the Bloomberg report.

Laser Digital was set up in 2022 and offers institutional crypto trading, asset management and venture investment services. The sale review comes after a period in which the unit expanded its regulated activities. In August 2026, Laser Digital Japan received registration as a crypto exchange service provider, and in May the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted preliminary conditional approval for a proposed national trust bank.

The potential sale also follows continued losses in Nomura's European operations. The group's European business recorded a pretax loss of ¥7.4 billion ($46.5 million) in the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2026, its fourth consecutive quarterly loss. Nomura reported pretax profits in every other region for the same period. The company did not disclose whether Laser Digital contributed to the European result. Bloomberg reported that earlier losses at the subsidiary during a period of crypto market volatility had pushed the European business into the red, according to Crypto.news.

Why it matters

The review is significant because Laser Digital sits inside a large traditional financial group that has spent recent years building regulated digital-asset services. A sale would show that Nomura is weighing those expansion plans against the drag from its European operations. The unit's recent licenses in Japan and the United States make the timing notable: they could make the business more attractive to a buyer, while also marking recent progress that a buyer would acquire.

Any deal would also draw attention from other institutional crypto businesses. Marex, the potential buyer named by Bloomberg, already offers institutional crypto trading and financial services. On Oct. 1, it announced an over-the-counter rolling spot crypto product that lets clients take long or short positions through cash-settled derivatives without holding the underlying tokens. Bloomberg did not identify other prospective buyers, and no purchase price or timetable has been made public.

What the data shows

Nomura's latest results put the European loss in context. For the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2026, the group reported ¥103.7 billion in net income, down 29% from the prior three months, and ¥148 billion in consolidated pretax profit. For the six months ended September, net income was ¥249.3 billion. Nomura's investment management division oversaw ¥152.8 trillion ($960 billion) in assets as of September 2026. The European pretax loss was ¥7.4 billion ($46.5 million), while other regions remained profitable.

Background

Laser Digital's Japanese registration, granted in August, made it the country's first newly registered crypto exchange operator in about four years, according to Crypto.news. The Japanese business initially planned to provide liquidity to domestic crypto companies before introducing trading services for institutional investors. The US trust bank approval is preliminary and does not allow the proposed bank to begin operations immediately; Laser Digital must meet preopening requirements before final authorization. Outside Japan and the US, the company holds regulatory permissions in the UAE and offers investment products for professional investors.

Nomura had already moved to limit its exposure to crypto market swings. During a Jan. 30 earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Hiroyuki Moriuchi acknowledged losses tied to Laser Digital's trading in October and November 2025 and said the company would reduce the risk exposure of its positions while continuing to expand the subsidiary over the medium to long term. Nomura also operates other digital-asset businesses, including Komainu for institutional custody and Boostry for tokenized financial products.

What is still unclear

Several key details remain undisclosed. Neither Nomura nor Bloomberg identified a proposed price for Laser Digital or a deadline for the talks. Bloomberg did not name prospective buyers beyond Marex. Nomura's financial statements do not separately show how much Laser Digital contributed to the European loss. It is also not clear whether the discussions will lead to a transaction or whether Nomura will keep the unit.

What to watch

Market participants will watch whether Nomura advances talks with Marex or another buyer, and whether the company confirms or ends the review. Also relevant are Laser Digital's regulatory milestones, including the steps needed to convert its preliminary US trust bank approval into final authorization and the build-out of its Japanese exchange business. Any update would clarify how Nomura intends to balance digital-asset expansion with European losses.

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