Nomura weighs sale of Laser Digital after European loss

What Nomura is reviewing

Nomura Holdings is studying a sale of Laser Digital, the digital-assets subsidiary it set up in 2022, according to CryptoActu. No final decision has been taken, and the Japanese group could also keep the business.

Marex Group is among the potential buyers, the report said. It said no agreement has been reached and that spokespeople for Nomura and Marex declined to comment on the talks. No sale price or timetable has been disclosed.

The loss behind the review

The review follows a pre-tax loss of 7.4 billion yen, about $46.5 million, in Nomura's European operations in the quarter ended 30 September 2026. That was their fourth consecutive quarter in the red, according to the report.

Nomura has not said how much of that loss came from Laser Digital. The report said the unit itself lost money last year after sharp swings in crypto prices, and that the group has since tightened risk controls and cut short-term trading positions.

The subsidiary is small next to the rest of Nomura. Its asset management division oversaw 152,800 billion yen, about $960 billion, in September 2026, the report said.

Licences obtained before the review

Laser Digital, headquartered in Zurich, serves institutional clients with crypto trading, asset management, venture capital and on-chain credit. It also works on private financing in emerging markets and decentralized-finance bond products.

In August 2026, Laser Digital Japan obtained a crypto exchange licence, the first granted to a new entrant in the country in about four years. The licence covers bitcoin, ether, XRP, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Shiba Inu, and is meant to let the unit supply liquidity to licensed Japanese crypto providers.

In May, the unit also received conditional preliminary approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank in the United States. That project is separate from the Japanese licence.

What is still open

Whether Nomura sells, keeps the unit or picks a buyer other than Marex remains undecided, and the contribution of Laser Digital to the European loss is not public. The Japanese licence and the U.S. banking project give the subsidiary regulatory assets that are only months old.