Japan has issued its first new cryptocurrency exchange license in four years, granting it to Laser Digital, a digital asset firm backed by Japanese financial services group Nomura, according to information shared by @coinbureau on X.

The approval ends a four-year stretch in which no new exchange license was issued in Japan, and it comes as the country moves toward treating crypto assets more like conventional financial products. Japanese authorities are also weighing regulatory changes that could support broader institutional participation, including conditions that may eventually allow the introduction of cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds and reforms to the way digital assets are taxed.

Regulated Pathway for Laser Digital

Laser Digital plans to begin operations by supplying liquidity to locally licensed cryptocurrency firms in Japan, with its activities expected to expand later into institutional trading — a progression that would broaden the company's role in the country's digital asset market. The firm was launched by Nomura in 2022 as the securities group's dedicated digital assets arm, so the approval brings that operation into Nomura's home market under a regulator-sanctioned framework.

The licensing decision reflects Japan's continued focus on maintaining a regulated framework for cryptocurrency businesses. Rather than opening the market without restrictions, the country has kept licensing requirements in place for companies seeking to provide crypto-related services. Those requirements, administered by the Financial Services Agency under the Payment Services Act, took shape after the 2014 collapse of Mt. Gox, then the world's largest bitcoin exchange, and were tightened further after the January 2018 hack of Coincheck, in which roughly $530 million in tokens were stolen — events that led Japanese regulators to strengthen oversight of the sector. For Laser Digital, the approval establishes a regulated pathway to build operations in the Japanese market and to develop services aimed at institutional participants.

Broader Regulatory Shift Underway

The license follows a broader shift in Japan's approach to cryptocurrency regulation, with the country moving to treat crypto assets as financial products — a change that could have wider consequences for the domestic digital asset industry. The reclassification under discussion would move digital assets from the Payment Services Act toward the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, the statute governing securities, and it is this shift that has been widely discussed in Japan as the route to permitting crypto ETFs.

One potential outcome is the development of cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds, which could provide investors with another regulated way to gain exposure to digital assets. Tax treatment is another area affected by the evolving framework: changes to the treatment of crypto assets could influence how individuals and institutions participate in the market, although the post did not provide details on the scope or timing of any proposed reforms. Domestic policy debate to date has centered on individual crypto gains, which are currently taxed as miscellaneous income at rates that can reach about 55 percent — well above the roughly 20 percent separate taxation applied to profits on listed stocks, a gap frequently cited in Japanese discussions of reform.

Japan has historically maintained a relatively structured regulatory approach to cryptocurrencies, with licensed exchanges operating under oversight designed to address issues including market integrity and investor protection.

Institutional Interest Reported

The licensing development also comes amid reported interest from Japanese institutions in acquiring cryptocurrency exposure. According to the information shared on X, 79% of Japanese institutions surveyed plan to buy crypto within three years — a figure that points to a potentially broad base of institutional interest as regulated infrastructure develops.

Greater institutional participation could increase demand for services such as regulated trading, liquidity provision, and custody, which places Laser Digital's planned progression from supplying liquidity to licensed local firms toward institutional trading within a broader shift toward professional participation in the digital asset market. Any new entrant would be operating alongside long-licensed domestic exchanges such as bitFlyer and Coincheck, which have functioned under the FSA's regime for years.

The reported survey figure represents stated intentions rather than confirmed purchases. Actual institutional investment will depend on regulatory conditions, market developments, and the availability of suitable products and services.

The granting of Japan's first new crypto exchange license in four years nevertheless represents an important regulatory development for the country's digital asset sector. With crypto increasingly treated within the framework of financial products, Japan's next regulatory decisions — on whether crypto ETFs win approval, how tax revisions advance, and whether more firms pursue licenses now that the four-year licensing gap has ended — could shape how exchanges, institutional investors, and other market participants operate in the country.

Reporting by Victoria Hale for Hokanews. Source: Hokanews; primary post: @coinbureau on X.