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The Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has granted preliminary approval to Laser Digital, the digital assets division of Japan’s Nomura Bank, allowing it to offer broker-dealer services and asset/fund management services involving both digital and traditional assets, as per an ADGM announcement on September 26.
Laser Digital will be eligible to obtain full financial services permission upon satisfying the conditions outlined in the current approval. The specific conditions were not disclosed in the announcement. Laser Digital CEO, Jez Mohideen, expressed in the ADGM’s statement:
“Their comprehensive and transparent regulatory framework is establishing a global hub for digital assets that we are excited to become a part of.”
ADGM is an international financial free zone situated in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Spanning nearly 15 square kilometers over two islands, it comprises a registration authority, regulatory authority, and a court that applies common law.
In April 2022, Binance received preliminary approval to operate within the ADGM and later secured financial services permission in November. Kraken also obtained permission to operate in the ADGM in 2022. In 2023, the ADGM granted licenses to two smaller digital asset firms: UAE-based M2 and Bahrain-based Rain.
Earlier this year, Ras Al Khaimah, another emirate, established a digital and virtual asset company free zone named RAK Digital Assets Oasis.
The preliminary approval in Abu Dhabi comes a little over a month after Laser Digital obtained an operational license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). Additionally, it launched a Bitcoin Adoption Fund in August. Laser Digital was established in September 2022.
Nomura is also part of the Komainu joint venture, alongside cryptocurrency exchanges CoinShares and Ledger. Komainu acquired an operational license from Dubai’s VARA in August, joining several other crypto exchanges.
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