Laser Digital’s new asset management arm plotting full crypto suite

The Nomura-backed company’s first product is set to be followed by funds across traditional and digital asset classes, exec tells Blockworks

article-image

phanurak rubpol/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

The asset management unit of Nomura-backed crypto firm Laser Digital has introduced its first cryptocurrency fund, and intends to launch more products that go beyond bitcoin.

Its Bitcoin Adoption Fund, which launched on Tuesday, offers institutional investors long-only investment exposure in Bitcoin. This is the first of several “digital adoption investment solutions” that the company plans to introduce.

“Funds exploiting alpha and beta from both traditional and digital asset classes will follow,” Laser Digital Asset Management head Sebastien Guglietta told Blockworks. 

He declined to comment on what types of products in particular could be next.  

Japan-based investment bank Nomura introduced Laser Digital last year. The Swiss company was set to focus on Web3 and blockchain companies initially before branching out to offer trading and investment products to institutional clients.

Laser Digital’s asset management unit formed in February, with team members spread across London, Zurich and Dubai. It now has one product under its belt. 

Registered as a mutual fund under the Cayman Islands Regulatory Authority, the fund has been registered for marketing in Ireland, Luxembourg and the UK, Guglietta said. 

“Additional registrations may follow depending on investor demand,” he added. 

Before being tapped to lead Laser Digital Asset Management, Guglietta was Nomura’s chief scientist officer. He also previously worked as a portfolio manager and senior scientist at hedge fund Brevan Howard.

After partnering with crypto asset manager CoinShares and digital asset security company Ledger in 2020 to start the crypto custodian Komainu, Nomura established Laser Digital. This later led to the creation of Laser Digital’s fund group.

Laser Digital gained a full crypto license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority in July. The company hinted at its latest product launch at the time, noting it would develop “[over-the-counter] trading services and a comprehensive range of digital asset investment products and solutions.”


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the On the Margin newsletter.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Salt Lake City, UT

MON - TUES, OCT. 7 - 8, 2024

Blockworks and Bankless in collaboration with buidlbox are excited to announce the second installment of the Permissionless Hackathon – taking place October 7-8 in Salt Lake City, Utah. We’ve partnered with buidlbox to bring together the brightest minds in crypto for […]

Salt Lake City, UT

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Permissionless is a conference for founders, application developers, and users. Come meet the next generation of people building and using crypto.

recent research

Blinks Report Image.png

Research

Blinks enable the ability to vampire attack user monetization of existing networks by inserting onchain and financialized functionalities directly within the popular social feeds and digital experiences of today.

article-image

Plus, how the FTX collapse played out in Asian countries

article-image

Kalshi founder Tarek Mansour said Thursday marked the “the first trade on regulated election markets in nearly a century”

article-image

I was excited about being on the precipice of realigning societal incentives and solving many issues plaguing our modern financial world

article-image

Cypherpunk Holdings has rebranded to Sol Strategies in a pivot to a Solana-first investment approach

article-image

BitGo’s wrapped bitcoin (wBTC) has a new custodial challenger

article-image

Make no mistake: Tether makes a ton of money. But exactly how much depends a lot on the price of bitcoin.