Key takeaways:
- The largest investment bank in Japan has introduced a Bitcoin Adoption Fund for institutional investors through its digital asset division.
- The Bitcoin Fund is a component of Laser Digital Funds Segregated Portfolio Company, registered as a mutual fund.
The largest investment bank in Japan has introduced a Bitcoin Adoption Fund for institutional investors through its digital asset division, Laser Digital Asset Management.
According to the official statement, the Bitcoin-based fund will be the first of several digital adoption investment options that the company aims to develop.
Nomura, a Japanese financial behemoth with over $500 billion in assets, provides brokerage services to top institutional investors. Its digital asset arm’s newly formed Bitcoin fund will now give investors direct access to Bitcoin.
Long-only exposure to Bitcoin is provided by the Laser Digital Bitcoin Adoption Fund. The banking behemoth has selected Komainu as its regulated custody partner. According to the Cayman Islands Regulatory Authority, the Bitcoin Fund is a component of Laser Digital Funds Segregated Portfolio Company, registered as a mutual fund.
According to Sebastien Guglietta, the CEO of Laser Digital Asset Management, Bitcoin is one of the factors enabling this long-lasting transformational change, and long-term exposure to Bitcoin provides a way for investors to profit from this macro trend. Guglietta stated in the statement:
“Technology is a key driver of global economic growth and is transforming a large part of the economy from analogue to digital. Bitcoin is one of the enablers of this long-lasting transformational change and long-term exposure to Bitcoin offers a solution to investors to capture this macro trend,”
Although Nomura and its digital asset business may have launched the first fund of its sort, the Japanese investment banking behemoth has long been a participant in the ecosystem for digital assets. To remain at the forefront of digital innovation, the company introduced its venture capital arm for digital assets in September 2022.
Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) granted Laser Digital, Nomura’s cryptocurrency division, a license to conduct business there in August of this year.
A growing debate about Bitcoin-based investment products from regulated and mainstream financial juggernauts is the backdrop for the launch of the long-only Bitcoin Adoption Fund for investors in Japan.
Despite a delayed decision on spot Bitcoin ETFs, the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on Bitcoin futures. Over the past few years, countries other than the US focusing on Bitcoin have also approved some investment products.
